The Matrix: Resurrection
by Lone Stranger
Summary: SPOILERS FOR REVOLUTIONS. Follow Neo's journey with Trinity as they stumble through the afterlife, trying to get back to the world of the living. After all, he is still the One, and the world still needs his help.
1. The Light Explosion

**The Matrix: Resurrection**

**I saw the first Matrix movie a few months ago, and I saw Reloaded and Revolutions a few weeks ago. I fell in love:D . This is going to be a lengthy post-Revolutions fic. I love reviews :)**

**Oh, and the first part of this is going to be in Neo's point of view, but it's going to be in third person for the rest of the fic.**

**-Stranger **

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**Chapter One: The Light Explosion**

_It was very strange. I could feel Agent Smith taking over my body. My hands turning into his, my hair becoming coarse, my body becoming more rigid and straight. Once I was fully him, his mind began to take over for mine. I could still see things through my mind, but his mind was dominant, pushing mine out of the way._

"_Is it over?" the original Agent Smith asked with a twinge of fear in his voice._

_I wanted to fight him; wanted to punch him into the ground. My fist began to rise, but the other mind took over. My fist lowered, and my head began to nod 'yes'. I fought to get it to stop, but it seemed I had no control over my body anymore._

_Then at once, the Machines took over. _

_I could feel a great war within my body. Light was filling up, and there was no space to hold it all. I looked at my hands, and a crack began to form; small bits of light began to sneak out. The Agent part of my mind was in great turmoil, struggling to save itself. _

_Somehow, my Neo mind was cool and calm, even though I knew that I probably wouldn't make it out of this alive._

_The only thing I could think about was Trinity. As my body became engulfed in light, all I could see was her face; all I could hear was the laughter that was usually reserved for me._

_The original Smith and his clones also became engulfed in light, but I didn't see what happened to them. For at that moment, a great pain split my body._

_I exploded with light._

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**Okay, I know this is EXTREMELY short, but I had to end this chapter here, because the rest is going to be in 3rd person, and it would have been weird to change it mid-chapter. Plus, I had to put the end of Revolutions into Neo's point of view, so you knew where the next chapters were coming from :). Don't worry; I'll get the rest up soon. I already know what's going to happen next chapter, I just need to write it down :D**


	2. The White Light

**I told you it would be up soon! I love the Winter break :D**

**Oh, I forgot this in the first chapter! Silly me.**

**Disclaimer: The Matrix and any related material belongs to the Wachowski Brothers. Not me. I'm not a Wachowski brother **

**EDIT: I just fixed a couple of typos. Nothing new yet...**

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**The Matrix: Resurrection**

Chapter Two: The White Light

"_I exploded with light"_

As the pain subsided, Neo clenched his eyes shut; desperately trying to shut out anything that was going on around him. Eventually though, he figured that he would have to open his eyes.

So he did.

And the sight before him amazed even the Anomaly. Everywhere was just pure white. At first glance, Neo thought it was white lights, but upon closer inspection he realized that it was just this particular _shade_ of light which gave it a luminous glow. It was an indescribable color, and Neo knew a lot about colors. He had seen almost every one written into the code of the Matrix.

What also surprised him was that the 'whiteness' seemed to stretch on for eternity. There was no way of discerning up from down or front from behind. The only reason he knew that he was on some sort of floor was the fact that he was actually sitting on it. Otherwise, it could have just been infinite floating space.

With stiffened joints, Neo pushed himself up into a standing position. Even though he knew it would do him no good, he looked around in all directions searching for something; anything.

After a while, Neo just started walking; walking without a purpose. The sea of vast whiteness was beginning to make him sick, so he focused on his clothes. Surprisingly, he was in his Matrix attire; long black trench coat covering a black shirt, black pants, and black boots which all had a myriad of useless buckles which their only purpose was to make the ensemble 'fashionable'. Neo just assumed that this was because he had died in the Matrix and-

"Good God," he said aloud to himself. "I'm dead. I'm….dead." This newfound truth impacted him rather hard. So he did what all traumatized people do.

He ran.

And then ran some more.

Neo had no clue where he was running to, or why he was running in the first place. When he was winded, he stopped to catch his breath. "_That's odd",_ he thought,_ "If I'm dead, then why do I still need to breathe?"_

He sat down on the whiteness and covered his eyes with his hands. He took long, shallow breaths and tried to calm down.

When Neo opened his eyes, he felt the urge to look 360 degrees around again.

There, over his left shoulder, he could make out a speck. A black speck. Neo squinted his eyes in an attempt to make out the shape, but he couldn't see it from that far away. His first logical thought was to go towards it. He might not know what it is, but it gave him a goal to focus on. He was tired of looking at all of the buckles in his clothes (47 he counted).

Neo honestly had no idea how long he was walking. It was impossible to tell time in a place with no sunlight or any guidance for time. The only thing he could tell was that the black speck was getting closer. Once he had gotten so close, he could make out that the figure looked human. Neo's walk became faster and more determined. There was another like him here, stuck in this white hell-hole.

Whoever it was had their back turned to him. But once he was close enough to make out shapes, he stopped dead in his tracks. "No," he whispered. "No, it can't be. Don't do this to me." Although he couldn't see her face, he recognized that spandex and leather ensemble anywhere.

"Trinity," he forced out in a hoarse whisper. Neo yelled it this time. "TRINITY!"

She turned around to face him slowly, as if not believing it was really his voice. "Neo." Trinity whispered softly. The fine-tuned hardcore face of a soldier slowly melted from her features to show a look of pure surprise and ecstasy. Trinity took off running toward him, and without even realizing it he began to run towards her too.

They slammed into each other, and it might have bothered them had it been under any other circumstance. All they could do was simply hug each other, for the relief of finding a loved one washed over their body. When Neo looked at her face, he saw that there were very un-Trinity like tears in the corners of her eyes. "Trinity…I thought I'd lost you."

This was too much for her to bear, and she buried her face into his chest. Neo was content to just hug her, brushing his lips against her hair.

After what seemed like a short period of time to the couple, but an eternity to everyone else, Neo lifted his head out of her hair.

"Trin?"

"Hmmmm?" she replied into his shirt, not wanting to move a muscle

"Uh, Trinity….where are we?"

All of the sudden, Neo felt something tug on the left side of his trench coat.

"Why sir," said a squeaky voice from somewhere behind him, "You are in Limbo."

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**Dun dun dun…. Oh, the suspense is killing me.**

**See, it is going to be a Trinity/Neo fic. Thanks to my reviewers for the first chapter, and remember that reviews are always appreciated!**


	3. Henry

**3rd chapter! Dun dun dun! **

**Disclaimer: I'm not a Wachowski Brother…don't sue me**

**Sorry about the length between chapters. I was on vacation, and then I had an acute case of writers block . **

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Oh, and as a note to my anonymous reviewer 'Me', it is unclear whether on not Neo dies at the end of Revolutions. Some believe he does, some believe he doesn't. You'll just have to see it and decide for yourself :D Sorry if I spoiled anything for you. I hate it when other people do that to me, so I know how you feel.

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"_Why sir," said a squeaky voice from somewhere behind him, "You are in Limbo."_

Automatically, whether it be from the fact that Neo had just come from a fight, or that Trinity was in 'danger' he stood in front of her and held his hands in front of his face in a typical martial arts-style pose.

It was then that Neo looked down at his 'opponent'. The man (if you could call him that) was only about 3 feet tall, dressed in the most ridiculous pair of red suspenders that Neo had ever seen. The little man jumped in the air in fright, his small red hat flying off of his head.

"Goodness, sir. You don't need to fight me" he squeaked, possibly even more annoyingly than before. "I'm here to help."

Upon seeing the man's size, Neo relaxed and stepped to the side so Trinity could be seen as well. Neo looked the short little man over, and the corners of his mouth began to twitch with the forming of a smile. "So…who are you? And what is Limbo?"

The little man placed his hat back on his head and craned his neck up to see Neo. "Sorry for frightening you sir and lady. My name is Henry. I am the Limbo Guide, and I am here to help you."

"The Limbo Guide?" Trinity snorted with amusement. She wondered who had jokingly given him that nickname. Neo met her eyes andhis crinkled in a smile.

"This whole place is Limbo," he began, "It is a waiting place between Heaven and the real world. Not many people come here you know."

Neo couldn't resist himself. "So I take it you have a fairly easy job, eh? What do they pay you?"

Henry chuckled nervously. "Neo made a joke!"

Trinity rolled her eyes, but it was invisible behind her shades.

"Anyhoos, sir, I have come to take you to the borders of heaven. It was not your time to die. You were each expected to live until your old age, but you sacrificed yourselves for the war, and so you were sent here. I can only take you to the border of heaven, however. Once there, you will have to make the journey on your own."

"What journey?" Trinity demanded, losing her patience with the squeaky little man.

"Why, to the Big Man Upstairs, of course. He wants to see you two!" Henry leaned in closer. "I hear he has a surprise waiting for the two of you."

"Then by all means, let us go to him" Neo looked down towards Henry.

"Just show us the way"

Trinity sighed. She had no idea how long they had been walking. It seemed to go on forever, but it could have actually been around 5 minutes. She had no way of knowing.

The walk so far had been pretty silent. No one really talked, except for Henry who was muttering incoherently to himself. Trinity's fingers were interlaced with Neo's, each holding onto the other with a death grip, so as not to ever lose the other one.

"I'm tired of all this walking" Trinity stated randomly. "I'm tired of following someone we just met, to a place where we don't know where it is, and on top of it, it doesn't look like we've moved at all!" She groaned and adjusted he sunglasses.

Out of nowhere, Neo picked her up into his arms, and began to carry Trinity bridal-style as he continued to walk.

"Neo.Stop.This.And.Put.Me.Down!" she squirmed and beat her fists on his arms.

"Why Trinity," he began sarcastically, " I thought you told me you were tired of walking!"

Neo leaned down so that he could whisper in her ear, the feel of his breath on the back of her neck made Trinity shiver. "Besides, now you can be closer to me."

Trinity blushed, but was content to stay where she was. Eventually, her head snuggled into his chest and she dozed off into a light sleep.

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A couple of hours later, Trinity stirred and blinked open her eyes. At first, the whiteness scared her. Then, she remembered where she was. In Limbo. But not only was she in Limbo, she was in the arms of Neo. The One. Her One. 

Neo noticed that she had awoken, and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Glad you could finally join us."

She snorted softly.

"Neo…you do know that you have to put me down now, right?"

"And why would that be?" He grinned lopsidedly.

"Well first of all, I love you very much, but this is rather embarrassing. Second, my foot has fallen asleep, and it is rather uncomfortable. And third, I am a soldier and a ranking officer on the Nebuchadnezzar, so I am accustomed to walking, and if you don't put me down right now I will have to force myself out of your arms."

Neo just blinked a few times before sighing jokingly and releasing her to the ground. "As you wish, love." As soon as she was on the ground, he clasped her hand in his and continued walking forward in an attempt to catch up with Henry, who seemingly had not noticed they had stopped.

When they got near to him, Trinity could hear Henry whistling some childish tune that she had remembered from the Matrix. He seemed to be enjoying himself, and Trinity chuckled slightly. Confused, Neo looked towards her, and grinned when he followed her gaze.

"I didn't think that I would ever hear someone humming 'The Wheels on the Bus' ever again, but I guess Henry just proved me wrong" Neo managed to say with a straight face.

After more countless steps had been taken, Henry finally stopped his childish humming (he had now switched to 'Do Your Ears Hang Low?') and pointed to a gate that somehow managed to loom over the surrounding whiteness.

"At last! " Henry squealed triumphantly, "The gates to paradise!"

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**:D Reviewers make me all warm and fuzzy.**


	4. The Task Ahead

**Stranger here! I have a horrible case of writer's block, and this chapter just did NOT want to come out on paper. I still don't like it very much, but I was afraid people would come after me with pitchforks if I didn't update it sooner.**

**I watched The Matrix again yesterday, and I forced myself to sit down and write this. I have another one-shot in mind, and I'll probably write it between the next chapter and this one.**

**I just want to give a big thank you to my reviewers and fans. You are what keep the chapters coming! I truly take every review to heart, and I try and change according to suggestions.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or anything else Matrix related.They belong to the Wachowski Bros. 'Cept for Henry...he's mine.

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Chapter Four: The Task Ahead

"_At last!" Henry squealed triumphantly, "The gates to paradise!"_

In Trinity's opinion, they really did look like the gates to paradise. They were silver inlayed with gold, and taller than most anything she had ever seen…ever.

Outside the gates was a man standing behind a small brown podium. His hair was white as crystal, and he had a long beard which stretched all the way down to his knees.

Henry tapped Neo on the shoulder. "I need to go speak with some of my colleagues. Please just go wait by the gate." Henry shuffled over to the man behind the podium, waddling as if he were a duck. Neo just sighed as he and Trinity walked over closer to the gates.

Trinity noticed that Neo hadn't left her side the entire time they had been in Limbo. Here he was again, clutching her hand as if she were about to float away any second.

"Neo, really. You can let go of my hand now…"

He was silent for a moment, before turning to face her. His eyes were full of sadness, and he looked on the verge of tears (although he would never admit that to anyone).

"Trinity…I already lost you once. I couldn't bear to lose you again. Every time I close my eyes, I can see you dieing…I can see us on the _Logos_. It breaks my heart that I wasn't able to help you…that I just had to sit there and watch you fading away.

"In my final battle with Smith, I couldn't stop thinking of you. I knew that I had done everything I could for you, but it still felt like I had let you down. Then Smith began to talk to me. He began asking me why I fought. He asked me if I fought for love, and I realized that I did. I realized that I couldn't live without you, and that I wouldn't be the One without you."

Trinity had tears in her eyes now, as she caressed his cheek. "You would have been the One without me, Neo.", she whispered softly, "Youwere alwaysthe One."

He shook his head. "No I wasn't. When I met the Oracle for the first time, she told me that I had the power of the One, but that I wasn't him. She told me that I was waiting for something. At the time, I didn't know what it was, but after you brought me back to life I realized that I was waiting for something. You.

"The only reason I fought with Smith and was able to use my 'powers' was because of your love. I was fighting for _you._ If I had survived that fight, I wouldn't have been the One anymore. Because you weren't there.

"It was at that moment I realized what I had to do. The Oracle had once told me that Smith and I were like equals, a positive and a negative. To defeat Smith, I would have to sacrifice myself. And when I did it, I wasn't sad at all. I kept thinking about you, and how I might see you again someday…"

Neo trailed off as a few tears rolled down his cheeks. Trinity was in stunned silence. She reached out and grabbed his hand, holding it in her own. "You see this, Neo? I will be with you forever. _I'm never letting go_."

Neo bent down to kiss her, wrapping his arms around her waist. Hers went around his neck, pulling him closer to her. Trinity had forgotten how warm he was, and he had forgotten how perfectly she fit into the curve of his body.

There was a small "harrumph" noise that came from next to Trinity's knees. Neo pulled away a few inches and sighed. Trinity cursed under her breath at Henry's bad timing. She pulled Neo in for a quick kiss, before turning to the short little man.

"Yes?" she asked with a slightly annoyed tone.

"Sorry to…interrupt, sir and madam, but I need to explain the task ahead to you."

Neo furrowed his eyebrows. "The task?"

"Yes, the task. You see, all of the other previous 'Ones' live here as well. They are in a separate place from beyond the gates. Each one had their own little 'realm', where they are in control of their surroundings. To get to God, you must pass through each of their little realms. Each will test you on one of the following abilities; Trust, Logic, Strength, Skill, and Faithfulness. With each one you pass successfully, you are that much closer to the end goal.

"You will first walk through an area of whiteness, much like this. However Neo, this is your 'realm'. You can change it as you see fit. Just try to change it like you do the coding in the Matrix. You will discover that there is coding, but it doesn't tell force things to do what it says, it is merely a backup of what you are actually seeing. Kind of like HTML on a website.

"After you pass through there, you will enter the realm of the 'One' that was previously before you. The first 'One', the One who freed the first from the Matrix is your last stop. If you can pass through all five of them, then you are worthy of a meeting."

Neo nodded as he took in all of this information. Trinity's emotion was unreadable. It always got like this before a mission.

Henry pointed off to his left. "You will need to start walking that way. You'll come to your area soon enough, Neo."

Trinity and Neo both murmured a 'thanks' as they started walking.

They're hands were locked together, and they showed no signs of letting go anytime soon.

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After walking for a while, they came to a barrier in front of them. It looked to be made of thin plastic, or a gelatinous substance. 

"Do you think this is the place?" Trinity asked Neo quietly.

"I think so."

She clutched his hand tighter.

"Are you ready?"

Neo nodded. As they took a step together forward, he thought to himself, "_I'm never letting go"

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**Sorry for the cheesy ending. This whole chapter was pretty cheesy, actually.**

**If you don't quite understand the Task in front of Neo and Trinity, it should be explained in the coming chapters.**

**Thanks again to my reviewers!**

**-Stranger**


	5. Neo's Abode

**Eep! I'm really sorry about not getting this chapter out in a timely manner. I have such a horrible case of writers block when dealing with this fic. Oh, and it just deals with this fic too. I have another Matrix chapterfic planned (but I won't start it until this is finished), as well as a Matrix one-shot and two Harry Potter one-shots. Oy…**

**Sorry for any small typos. Lone doesn't usually beta my stories anymore -mock glare- and I've learned to ignore Microsoft Word when it picks up words like 'Neo' and 'Construct'.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine, sadly…

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Chapter 5: Neo's Abode

As Neo stepped through the barrier, he was once again met with a blank whiteness. He was about to grumble to himself, before he noticed that the surrounding was already shifting. '_Must be switching to my subconscious happiness'_ he thought dryly as a cool breeze swept around him.

Trinity let go of his hand and did a full 360 degree turn. Where they had been standing on white space was now a brick path, surrounded by a field of grass. Up ahead, a small cottage was visible, with (Trinity noted was a huge cliché) a puff of smoke rising up from a brick chimney. (A/N: The grammar doesn't sound right in that sentence…)

She smiled "Wow. I'd always thought you were a city-boy, Neo."

He grinned back and motioned for her to be quiet. Above twittering birdsong and the rustle of grass was the faint sound of cars speeding along a highway.

Trinity chuckled slightly. "I knew it."

Neo pulled her up the brick pathway, although it wasn't much of a struggle because she wanted to see the inside of the house as well. As he opened the front door, she wasn't at all surprised to see a normal place greeting her from inside. Yet although it was plain, it reminded her of Neo, and it was very comforting to her.

The crackling fireplace was the first thing she noticed, swiftly followed by the sight of a comfortable leather recliner chair and matching sofa. Trinity bounced off to see the rest of the house while Neo lagged behind, walking into the kitchen. He inspected all of the things he had never had growing up; a warm and inviting kitchen, with an atmosphere that surrounded him with love and comfort.

Shaking off those strange feelings, Neo walked into an office. He chuckled slightly when he saw an exact replica of his old Matrix-bound computer sitting next to an extremely modern and EXTREMELY expensive computer. He had always loved his computer.

Neo switched his attention to the window. Warm sunlight was peeking through clouds that refused to cover the light all of the way. He hadn't seen real windows in a long time; not since his days of being confined in the Matrix. Deep underground in Zion, there was no need for windows, as all you could see was dirt and machinery. Neo let his hand reach up to touch the cooled glass as he stared outside, apparently lost in a memory that only he recollected.

Suddenly, there was a cry from the back of the house. Neo jerked out of his daze to rush back there. Where he expected to find a colossal disaster, he instead found Trinity draped over an enormous bed, covered in what seemed to be hundreds of pillows.

The master bedroom was nice, decorated in browns and tans that reminded Neo of his and Trinity's cave in Zion. The bed was fitted into the wall, just like the other 'house'. In a small wooden frame on a side table next to the bed was a picture of him and Trinity. He wondered for a second where the picture came from, and who took it. The two of them were smiling happily, and the corners of his mouth twitched upon seeing.

Trinity moaned. "Neo, this bed is so comfortable. You don't know what it's like having slept on the Neb for 14 years" She trailed off happily, burrowing her face into a heap of pillows.

He smiled and walked over to a large oak door on the other side of the room. After sliding it open, he gaped at what he saw.

A dojo.

Much like the one in the Nebuchadnezzar's Contruct program, it was complete with a variety of weapons and levels on which to fight.

"God Trinity, come look at this."

She mumbled incoherently before raising her head from the pillows. Looking at what Neo pointed at, she whined. "But this bed is sooooo comfortable."

"Want to try it out?" he offered.

Trinity grinned slyly. "The bed or the dojo?"

Neo chuckled. "The dojo, Ms. 'I-have-a-dirty-mind' "

As she stood up, he took the opportunity to slide around to her back, wrapping his hands around her waist. Trinity shivered from the contact.

"Besides," he whispered huskily, "We can always try out the bed later".

She bent around to kiss his neck briefly, before stepping out into the arena.

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Neo and Trinity both sat on the floor and stretched; he did a few toe touches while Trinity showed off her flexibility with a few back bends. After cracking his knuckles, he stood in a fighting stance. 

Trinity shook her finger at him. "First, we have to establish rules. Number one, this is a fair fight. No using your powers as the One. I can't fly, Neo. Nor can I heal myself after an injury. Second, don't go easy on me." Her eyes twinkled with amusement.

Neo motioned for her to step forward (A.N: Wah! I love that little hand motion. So cool…)

As they circled each other, Trinity took a step forward, faking him out with her fist while really trying for a kick. Her foot collided with his shin, and Neo flipped backwards to avoid falling over. She tried the same move again but Neo, now wiser, grabbed her foot and twisted; a move he had learned from Agent Smith. She tumbled to the ground but was back on her feet in an instant.

What followed was a series of parries and blows; neither of the two gaining an advantage. As they neared a wall, Trinity ran up on it, reminding Neo of a cat. She flipped backwards over him, connecting her foot with his back. The force slammed him forward into a pole, cracking it on impact.

Neo wiped a trail of blood from his mouth with his sleeve.

Trinity looked amused. A strand of hair had become unruly and was now plastered to the side of her face with sweat. "Had enough?" she called with a hoarse voice.

Neo shook his head, grinning, and launched at her. Grabbing her shirt collar with his fist, he jumped up in the air, pulling her along with him. After holding her suspended in the air for a quick second, he pushed her down towards the ground. She was hurtling with tremendous speed, bracing herself for the impact that never came. Opening her eyes, Trinity saw that she was resting safely in Neo's arms as he floated a few inches above the ground. Blood was sliding down the corners of her mouth, and he brushed it away with a finger.

"I've had enough for today" he whispered as they floated towards the bedroom. Neo placed Trinity on the far side of the bed as he climbed under the covers. She wriggled for a moment before settling in a comfortable position; her head on his chest while his hand sleepily stroked her hair.

"Love you" she mumbled quickly before drifting off to sleep.

And although he knew she couldn't hear her, Neo whispered back. "I love you too."

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The next morning, Trinity yawned and stretched her body into an arch shape. That was the best sleep she had had in almost 15 years. As her eyes blinked open groggily, it took her a second to register where she was. She was dead. She was in a house. She was with Neo. 

But where was Neo?

Trinity looked around frantically before she noticed the succulent smell of bacon flowing through the doorway. Curiosity got the best of her, and she pulled back the covers, nervously shuffling down the hallway.

Neo was in the kitchen. Frying bacon.

Trinity had never known Neo to be a cook; nor had she remembered how good bacon smelled. Her mouth watered hungrily as she crept up behind him, flinging her arms around his neck. "Morning" she chirped happily, a sound that fascinated and _scared_ Neo at the same time.

"Why are you so chipper this morning, love?"

"You're cooking bacon. Oh, and the fact that we are both here, dead, but somehow very much _alive_. And, I'm not alone... And everything's in color"

Neo kissed her forehead before placing two strips of bacon on her plate.

After they were done eating, Neo and Trinity set back off on the brick pathway, this time heading for the opposite end of Neo's realm. Although they were both willing to stay here for the rest of their lives, commitment and adventure compelled the duo to continue on their journey.

Just as before, Trinity soon got tired of the walking. "Eh, Neo, could you change my outfit to something more comfortable? This walking in leather is making my skin irritable, and it's very tight..."

Neo blinked his eyes closed for a moment. When Trinity looked down, she noticed she was wearing a _very_ revealing bikini. "Now, this isn't comfortable Neo. It's just slutty…"

"It's comfortable for me" Neo said grinning, a reply that earned him a playful swat on the shoulder.

"Fine", he mock grumbled. "I'll change it."

This time when Trinity looked down, she was wearing a hideously ugly grey sweat suit. It was extremely unflattering, and it reminded her of whatold people used to jog in.

Neo laughed heartily at Trinity's glare. "Okayokayokay, I'll change it."

He 'put' her in a black spaghetti top with khaki cargo shorts. The shorts were a _little_ too short, but Trinity knew that Neo wouldn't make them longer.

"Thanks" she replied, kissing his cheek. About this time, they had walked upon another barrier, just as before.

The pair looked at it hesitantly.

Trinity grabbed Neo's hand and squeezed it. "Whatever happens next, know that I'm here for you."

Neo pulled her in for a sweet kiss, caressing her face as her arms wrapped around his neck. In one swift movement he thrust his arm through the barrier.

Soon, the rest of his body joined him.

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**Eh, this chapter was hard to write just like the last one.**

**I want to give a HUMONGOUS shout out to all of my reviewers. I love you all! I tried not to include as much fluff in this chapter, and tried to keep the humor to a minimum (although that was difficult…)**

**The next chapter is dealing with the first obstacle: 'Trust'. I have a basic idea for what is going to happen in the next chapter, but I would love it if you reviewed with your ideas. I would love your help and opinions :) **

**I wanted to get this up yesterday, but the 7th was my birthday :D I was too busy!**

**Much love!**

**-Stranger**


	6. Trust

**First of all, I am EXTREMELY sorry about the long wait. I could not find any inspiration to write this. Eventually, I just forced myself to sit down and type this out in one sitting. If there are any typos, please be kind. I wrote all of this at midnight o.0**

**Secondly, I want to give a big thanks to all of my reviewers. And I'm going to address some things. Yes, the authors notes in the middle of the story were annoying. Honestly, I don't like them either. It won't happen again :D The next chapter should be out sooner, because I already have the majority of it planned.**

**Enjoy! -Stranger**

Disclaimer: I'm not a Wachowski brother. Don't sue me. It's not worth your time.

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**Chapter 6: Trust**

Neo's fingers pierced through the sticky, translucent material of the barrier, and soon the rest of his body followed. When he entered, a sickening POP noise was heard, as if he was removing a suction cup from a piece of glass. As his eyes adjusted, he heard (rather than saw) Trinity enter behind him, making the noise that he had made seconds earlier. When all of the sunspots were removed from his vision, Neo was able to drink in his surroundings.

He and Trinity were standing in the middle of a forest. A _rain_forest, to be exact. Neo discovered the reason for the darkness; a thick canopy of trees stretched over the pair, blocking the sunlight from reaching tiny plants at the bottom. Weeds and small grasses reached high into the air, as if to catch the few drops of sunshine that evaded the tree's cover.

Shrugging at Trinity's questioning look, Neo trudged onwards through the dense foliage. Trinity seemed slightly unnerved at the amount of noise coming from the undergrowth; many animal calls could be heard, seeming as if they were following the pair down the pathway. Neo's nerves were put slightly on edge, as he heard what appeared to be something crashing through the bushes. Trinity appeared to have heard it too, for her eyes darted uneasily from Neo to the trees, then back to Neo. He turned around to reassure her with a warm smile. Her lips turned upwards slightly at the corners, but nothing could shake the sickening feeling that had settled in her stomach.

Neo turned back around, and came face to face with a strange man grinning devilishly and hanging from a tree.

"Boo"

Trinity jumped slightly at the man's sudden entrance. Neo swiveled his arms around to shield her from harm.

The intruder had rich light chocolate colored skin, and brown piercing eyes that were somewhat hidden behind a shaggy haircut. He pulled a strand of hair away from his face, showing off a handsome smile.

"Greetings One, and human" he stated with a thick South American accent.

"Who are you?" Neo asked through clenched teeth.

"Ah. Where are my manners? My Matrix name was Carlos Chavez, but my hacker alias was Chimera. You know what a chimera is right?" he purred. "The mythological beast consisting of a snake, a goat, and a lion. I always found the name fitting, for I knew myself to be not all human.

"Yes, Neo. I was a 'One'. The fifth one actually. My demise was what brought your arrival. If it hadn't been for me, you wouldn't be standing before me, in my false dream world" he trailed off, chuckling slightly at his own joke.

Neo glanced at Trinity for a moment before turning back to Chimera. "So you met the Architect as well?"

Chimera looked agitated. "Yes, I chose to save the human race, unlike you. You, who gave up millions for a single, _unimportant_ life." Trinity's eyes smoldered with fury at the man's remark

"When I was brought to the Architect, I took the smart choice. I saved the _human race_. Zion was restarted anew, and many people were happy to live their lives, instead of just one couple" Chimera glared at Trinity again.

Trinity glared with equal intensity. "So what are we here for?"

The One clapped his hands in delight. "You have been brought here for a test. In each realm, you shall be tested on one crucial element out of 5; Trust, Logic, Strength, Skill, and Faithfulness. Failing to pass one of the realms will force you back to the gates of heaven, where you will spend the rest of eternity."

Neo looked amused. "So what do we have to do, fight you?"

Chimera laughed heartily, a sound that sent shivers up Trinity's spine. "No. As it seems, my element to test you on is Trust. And this-" he snapped "is how I plan to do it."

Suddenly, the ground shifted underneath their feet. Neo looked to the ground anxiously, shutting his eyes closed as a particularly nauseating sensation overwhelmed him.

When he opened his eyes, Neo noted that they were no longer standing in the middle of a dense forest.

They were now situated on top of a mountain. A _very_ tall mountain.

Chimera smiled evilly and began talking again. "As you perceptive people may have noticed, you are now on one peak of the Andes mountain chain. Look around you. Above you. Below you. The ground is nearly 17,000 feet away. It would take you minutes before you plummeted to your death." He trailed off with an amused look on his face.

"The task before you is simple. See that mountain peak over yonder? You must walk across the air towards it. It should be easy for you, Neo. Flying comes as easily to you as does breathing. The walk over for you should be as if your feet were on solid ground.

"However, _m'lady_" he stated scornfully, "You WILL fall to your 'death' trying to walk across."

Chimera left no room for questions as he cackled. "One fatal move by the lady, and the journey is over for the both of you."

Trinity's face paled as she looked down towards the ground. Although she could manipulate some things in the Matrix, she still couldn't fly. Chimera flew out a few yards away from the edge and hovered in mid air, smirking as he was able to float with no worries. Neo turned towards Trinity. "I should start out first, so that I can stabilize you as you walk.

Neo took a step off of the edge of the cliff. He was able to stand mid air, just as Chimera was. Silently, Neo motioned for Trinity to step forward. Unease was evident in her face as she stepped closer towards the edge of the mountain. Cautiously, she placed a foot out into the air. It seemed solid enough.

But trouble came when she attempted to put weight on the suspended leg. As if a bridge suddenly came crashing down, Trinity began to topple forward. She only managed to save herself by thrusting backwards, sliding painfully into a group of rocks.

Chimera laughed, but stopped when Neo shot him a death glare. Trinity grimaced and stood up, using her sleeve to wipe away a trail of blood that dropped from the corner of her mouth. Once again, she stepped to the edge of the peak. Fear and nausea overcame her, and Neo noticed that the area around her lips was beginning to turn green.

He stepped back on to the cliff, cradling her in his arms. "What's the matter, Trin."

And he heard Trinity utter words that he rarely heard her speak.

"I'm scared."

She buried her face in his chest as silent tears cascaded down her face. Neo tilted her face up towards his. "Trinity. Do you trust me?'

"Yes" she whispered softly, barely audible.

Neo kissed her temple as he guided her back towards the edge. He gripped Trinity's hand in his own and stepped out into the air; never once breaking the connection. With a large exhale of breath, Trinity gathered up courage and stepped fully off of the mountain.

She faltered for a moment, but remained upright in the air. Neo ran a thumb across her cheek. "We'll take this slowly; one step at a time."

They began their snail's pace journey across the mountain. When they had gotten about half way, Chimera cursed under his breath. They should not be allowed to move to the next realm. Using his hands and arms, Chimera conjured up a wind storm. He twirled it around a few times before releasing it in Trinity's general direction. It slammed into her, making her waver in the air. Neo turned to face him. "What are you doing?"

Chimera shrugged nonchalantly. "It's fair." Neo's eyes flashed dangerously. "It's not fair, and you know damn well it isn't!"

The wind had done its job, though. Trinity began rocking up in the air. Neo tried to keep a firm hold of her body, but she slid from his grasp, plunging into the air below them.

To Trinity, this amount of time seemed like a few seconds, but to Neo it felt as if an entire eternity had passed him by. In a few seconds, a lifetime of memories with his beloved flashed before his eyes. Another split second longer, and he dive bombed after her, refusing to let her drop. Picking up an insanely large amount of speed, Neo dashed after her plummeting body. Trinity's eyes were clenched tight and her body had rolled into the fetal position; somehow telling itself that it wouldn't be injured if it returned back to the womb.

In one swift movement, Neo caught her in his arms. When she opened her eyes, she found herself to be floating in air, rather than crumpled on the ground. Arms instantly flung around Neo's neck, and she pulled him in for a frantic kiss, as if to reassure herself that she was still here.

Neo floated back up to where Chimera was hovering, cradling Trinity in his arms the whole way up. Chimera had a sickeningly twisted expression on his face."Pity she didn't hit the ground. It would have saved her the embarrassment of being incompetent."

Neo growled dangerously.

"Oh come now, it _is_ her fault that you won't be going on. She fell. The journey ends here for both of you."

While still keeping a firm hold on Trinity's body, Neo reached up to grab Chimera by the shirt collar, hoisting him upwards in a chocking motion. "You will let us pass through this realm of yours" he began through gritted teeth. "Or I will fight you. Right here; right now."

Chimera brushed him off smoothly, waving them away as if Neo couldn't hurt a fly. "Fine, take your leave. I wouldn't want to soil my hands in your filth." His eyes turned vicious. "Don't be cocky of your win, _boy_. The next One is a hell of a lot tougher than I am."

Chimera flew off in the opposite direction, leaving the pair hovering in the sky. Neo looked down to Trinity to discover that she had tears in her eyes. "Chimera was right. It was my fault we almost lost" she whispered. Neo soothed her, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ears. "It wasn't your fault, Trinity. Nothing could ever be your fault."

Neo bend his head down to kiss her softly, wanting to remove any pain that she carried in her heart. Trinity relaxed at the touch, nestling her body into the crook of his arms.

When Neo pulled away breathless, Trinity smiled. "Now let's get out of this prison before _he_ shows up again."

Neo nodded, and they flew off towards the next barrier.


	7. Logic

**I know, I know. I am lazy, and I need to get chapters out sooner. But, I made this one _extra_ long for you readers. **

**Thanks for all of your reviews! I love hearing back from you.**

**-Stranger**

Disclaimer: Still not mine…

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**Chapter 7: Logic**

"_Now let's get out of this prison before **he** shows up again."_

After a few minutes of light jogging, Neo and Trinity arrived at another barrier. Neo pierced his hands through first, pulling back in shock.

"What's the matter?" Trinity looked at him confusedly.

"It's… _cold_." His eyebrows knitted together in confusion. Deciding it was better to go and get 'it' over with, Neo hastily stepped through the barrier. His initial observations were confirmed, as the air in the newest realm had taken on a surprisingly low temperature. Trinity soon followed behind him, clutching her sides to hold in the warmth.

Neo handed Trinity his jacket, to which she smiled gratefully. As she slid it over her shoulders, Neo looked around. They were in some sort of never-ending warehouse; the only visible wall was the one directly behind them. All around the pair were millions and millions of cardboard boxes, piled to the ceiling. To Neo, it looked like a kindergartener had constructed a make-shift city. Looking up, Neo saw rows of creaky fans that adorned the ceiling. Trinity followed his gaze.

"Must be the source of the cold" she muttered, taking a few steps forward. Neo turned to his right and slid open the lid to one of the boxes. "Well, I've got blenders."

Trinity smiled slightly and opened a box near to her. "I've got replacement ink cartridges"

Neo laughed. "So we've got ourselves a hoarder…interesting." He made to open another cardboard box, when a hand shot out to grasp his wrist.

"I wouldn't d-do that if I were you."

The voice belonged to a scrawny man who was a few inches shorter than Neo. His look was not intimidating in the least bit, from his crisp white polo shirt, to his too-big khaki pants, to the thick horn-rimmed glasses that were situated on top of his nose.

After getting over his initial shock and discomfort, Neo put on his poker face. "Who are you?"

"S-sorry for bothering you, s-sir. My name is Omega, and I was the 4th anomaly."

Neo raised a questioning eyebrow before he could stop himself. Omega smiled wryly.

"Yes, _I_ was the 4th One. My hacker alias was Omega. I can't even remember my Matrix name anymore; it has been too long. I was originally taken from the Matrix because I s-seemed to meet the One 'criteria'. Even if I don't quite look the part" he smirked, gesturing down to his appearance. "Although my fighting s-skills are anything but graceful and reformed, I was very excellent at hacking. Even more so that you, Trinity." He nodded in her direction.

Trinity started to open her mouth, but Neo placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing slightly.

"When I made it to the Source, I chose to restart Zion. It was the smarter choice, rather than kill everyone plugged in"

"No one died after I defeated Smith" Neo growled. His choice had become a rather testy subject, and he didn't really care to talk about it.

"Ah, but your case is s-special. No one could have foreseen the end to your Earthly adventure." Omega coughed slightly and pushed his horn-rimmed glasses up his nose line, for they had begun to slip. "The Architect presented his case rather convincingly, didn't he?"

Trinity had taken on a questioning look about halfway through Omega's monologue. When she caught Neo looking at her, she mouthed 'The Architect?' to him. Neo shook his head and gave her an 'I'll tell you later' look before returning his attention back to Omega. He smiled, trying to hide his discomfort.

"Yes, but I always did have a problem with authority."

Omega chuckled politely. "If you d-didn't, you wouldn't be here. Now pushing the pleasantries aside; we have business to attend to". He sighed and pushed his glasses up his nose again, for they had fallen down.

"I am to test you on Logic. The task itself is fairly s-simple, although completing it may bring some d-difficulty. All you have to do is answer one s-simple logical thinking question"

Neo nodded.

"What would the number be, if you multiplied all of the fingers on the left hands of every person in the world together?"

"That is impossible! No one knows the exact number of people on Earth" Trinity blurted out. "You can't get an exact number!"

Omega smiled deviously. "Oh yes. There is an exact number. Think _logically_" Neo's face was contorted with a look of deep thought. His hand began absentmindedly stroking his chin; a cliché reaction when someone is thinking. Neo also began staring at his own left hand; turning it this way and that, observing each of his five fingers carefully.

And that is when it hit him.

He 'hid' his thumb behind his palm, observing his hand now with four fingers. Slowly he ticked his fingers away, until his hand was balled into a fist.

"I've got it. The answer is: Zero"

Trinity's jaw dropped to her chest. "Neo, you ass! That is the most ridiculous answer I have ever he-"

"Correct" Omega stated in a booming voice.

This effectively shut Trinity up. "But…how would the answer be zero?" Neo grinned. "It only takes one person to not have any fingers on their left hand, to balance the problem to zero. Any number multiplied by zero is zero, Trinity."

"Damn 4th grade math" she mumbled "I'm a hacker, for crying out loud!"

Omega shuffled his feet and frowned. "That was too easy for you, anomaly. I'm going to have you d-do s-something else." He snapped and Trinity disappeared. Neo grabbed him by the shirt collar, hoisting his tiny frame upwards.

"Calm down, Neo. S-she is part of your test. If you would put me down, I could s-show you." Neo threw him down rather forcefully. "Lead the way."

Omega stood up, trembling slightly. He walked a few aisles forward, and then turned left. There was a large open area, almost completely encircled by boxes stacked all of the way to the ceiling. Omega motioned for Neo to follow him inside, and doing so sealed off the exit behind them. Neo turned around to find a way out, but it was useless.

"The only way to get out of here is to pass this test."

"I already answered your riddle; let Trinity and me pass already."

"Well, as you have _obviously_ noticed, Trinity is not with you now. S-she is in fact, part of this test. Ergo, for both of you to pass on s-safely you must win her back." Omega snapped his fingers and Trinity appeared about ten feet in front of them.

"Neo, thank God. I-"

She was silenced, as all around her popped up exact duplicates of her. Soon Neo lost track of the real Trinity inside the sea of copies. They all shifted and walked around, and it reminded Neo of those rigged Shell games that were held at carnivals and fairs.

Omega looked pleased with himself. "You can ask three questions to figure out which of the people before you is your lover. If you pick the right one, then you can pass. Guaranteed, this time. If you pick the wrong one, then I'm afraid your trip is over. Oh, and these clones know a lot about the real Trinity's life, so I s-suggest you pick questions that are not extremely obvious."

Neo looked in front of him. All of the "Trinities" looked exactly the same, so spotting the real one was out of the question.

"At what age were you unplugged from the Matrix?"

All of the subjects answered "Sixteen" at the same time, and it made a buzzing noise in Neo's ears.

He thought a little more carefully for the next question. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that some of the clones looked faker than others. 'So it _is _possible to tell them apart', he mused. That ruled out about a third of the clones.

"How many times have you beaten Morpheus in the Construct?"

Once again, they all buzzed an answer at the same time. "Three times; five if you count the times that we have tied."

Neo cursed inwardly; he thought that was a tough question to answer. Instead of answering right away, he walked up towards the Trinitys. By this point, all of the people were standing in uniform rows. He walked up and down the first row, taking note to the clones' features. They all looked like his lover; a stubborn chin, unruly hair, and gorgeous cerulean eyes that sparkled when the light hit them just so. And that was when Neo noticed another key piece of information.

All of the clones were blinking at the same time.

Of course, if Omega had programmed them, he wouldn't think to include a random blinking mechanism. Neo had also noticed this same feature about all programs inside the Matrix; from Agents to the Oracle. Weeding out the clones was going to be a lot easier now.

Once again, Neo walked up and down the rows, easily removing the first, second, third, and fourth row as possibilities. Once he reached the fifth row, he inspected the candidates. They were all blinking at the same time. He was about to move on to the 6th row, when he noticed that the "Trinity" on the end blinked; about a second before all of the others. She blinked again, this time twice in a row as if to clear her eyes.

Neo smiled. He addressed the whole company again. "How much do you love me?"

All of the clones looked at one another; confused. Programs were not written to love. The Trinity in front of him looked up with sparkling eyes.

"More than you can possibly imagine" she said in a barley audible voice. Neo grinned and picked Trinity up by her underarms, spinning her around.

Once Trinity was on the ground again, she smiled. "Neo, I've been in the bathroom for a longer amount of time than we were apart."

He chuckled and brought his mouth down to hers, nibbling at her lower lip. She whimpered and pushed her body closer to his, still reveling in the fact that he was so warm. Her arms looped around his neck, as his went around her waist, pushing the two impossibly closer together.

Omega walked over and tapped Neo on the shoulder. "You two can now pass safely."

A hole opened up in the line of boxes, showing an exit to his realm.

"Be careful, 6th anomaly. Not all tests will be as easy as this" Omega nodded a farewell before returning to his stacks of boxes. As New and Trinity walked out of the enclosure, he picked up a bicycle seat and placed it in a box on his right.

As soon as the couple was out of eyeshot, Trinity gripped Neo's forearm, which effectively stopped him. "Okay, Neo. There is a story here that needs to be told. Who is the Architect?"

Abruptly, Neo dropped a kiss on Trinity's cheek, near the corner of her mouth.

"What was _that_ for?"

Neo sighed. "After I tell you the story, you might not let me anymore" ……………

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**Okay, I have a poll for something that is going to happen in the next chapter. Vote for one of these, please :)**

1) Niobe leaves Locke, and goes back to Morpheus

2) Morpheus meets a new (female) Zionite he hasn't met before

3) No romance what-so-ever (excluding our heroes, of course)


	8. The Aftermath

**Wow. I actually got this chapter out in a timely manner. I think this is a first :) Oh, I'm sorry for any typos. I don't have a beta or anything, and there are some things that I don't catch.**

**  
In this chapter, we take a little trip back to Zion and see how Morpheus and the gang are faring.**

**Next chapter is Strength!  
****  
-Stranger**

Disclaimer: I do not own the Matrix. The only things I own in this story are the plot, and any characters made up by me for use in this story.

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**Chapter 8: The Aftermath**

_Abruptly, Neo dropped a kiss on Trinity's cheek, near the corner of her mouth._

"_What was **that **for?"_

_Neo sighed. "After I tell you the story, you might not let me anymore"_

As soon as Neo finished telling Trinity about the Architect and their Matrix encounter he dodged away from a punch that landed an inch or so away from his cheek, nearly grazing it as he swiveled his head. If he hadn't moved, Trinity's fist would have landed square in his jaw. When she tried to hit him a second time Neo grabbed both of her arms by the wrist and forced them down to her sides, her shoulder bones creaking with the unfamiliar action.

"I've told you a million times, Neo, my life is not worth saving if it puts the lives of others at risk. You have 250,000 lives on your conscience instead of just one!"

As she continued to struggle, Neo kept a firm hold on her hands. Asher protests began to slow, and her curses became less and less violent and threatening, he stared her straight in the eye.

"Trinity, I deleted Smith in return for peace from the machines. Since they are not human and therefore cannot lie, I trust the _machine_ to keep its word." He releasedher wrists and she just stared coldly at him, making Neo flinch uncomfortably.

"Zion will be fine" Neo added in an attempt to break the tension between them.

Trinity reached out and forcibly grabbed Neo's thigh, her sharp fingernails resting dangerously close to his groin.

"For your sake," she muttered icily, "You had better hope so"

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Zion _was_ doing 'fine', as Neo had stated monosyllabically. Repairs were already underway, and the debris was being cleaned off the battlefield. 

Morpheus stood in the dock, staring down at the 'body' of a fallen Sentinel. He briefly stared into its lifelessred eyes before throwing it into a pile with the others.He tried to drown out the metal grinding sound as it's tentacles meshed with another of its kind.

Niobe threw a Sentinel on the pile from next to Morpheus. Sweat beaded on her forehead and her hair was pulled back into a horsetail, although many stray hairs had escaped their binding and now framed her face.

"That's 50 of them for each of us, Morpheus." She said suddenly, breaking the silence. "What say we take a break?"

Morpheus smiled tentatively, the gap between his two front teeth poking out from behind his lips. They sat together on a broken ammunition cart and surveyed the cleanup process.

All of the able-bodied Zionites were assisting. The young ones did simple and monotonous tasks such as sweeping away machine parts. Those who were older and stronger were given the job of dealing with the casualties on both sides, finding Zionite bodies for burial, and placing Sentinels in giant piles to be burned and the metal melted down for future use.

"Neo came through for us" Niobe muttered, glancing up at the hole left by the digging machines.

"Trinity as well" Morpheus remarked, remembering the bravery of his First Officer and friend whom he had known for 12 years.

Niobe nodded and squeezed his hand for reassurance. "They are not gone from us, Morpheus. As long as the people of Zion remember the war, they will remember the fallen heroes."

Their quiet moment was interrupted by a Zion soldier carrying an official looking document.

"Captains Morpheus and Niobe, Commander Locke requests the two of you in his office. _Immediately_." His tone was forceful, and this made Niobe mad.

"What if I was disinclined to acquiesce to his request?" Niobe shot back, giving the soldier a glare that had made many a coppertop cower before her. It had no visible effect on him, however.

"I wouldn't advise it, Captain. Commander Locke is the one who makes sure you have a job, and the one who _keeps the sheets warm for you at night._"

It was a low blow, the soldier knew, one suggesting that Niobe only had the power she did because she was dating the Commander. But obviously the soldier had no problems aggravating a person who had a ready supply of EMP guns at their disposal. Niobe was ready to fire back some response that could jeopardize her career, so Morpheus grabbed her shoulder and squeezed. She clamped her lips shut and glared once more. "We will be right there" she said through gritted teeth.

The soldier smugly turned around and headed back towards his post. "Don't mind him, Niobe" Morpheus told her gently. "He doesn't realize that we saved his ass with your amazing piloting skills."

She visibly relaxed at the compliment she received, and the two Captains made their way to the Commander's office.

Upon reaching Locke's door, Niobe wrenched it open, not even bothering a knock.

"Niobe, come one in" Locke commented dryly. "Have a seat."

Both of the captains obeyed.

"Seeing as the _Nebuchadnezzar_ was lost due to a Sentinel attack and the _Logos_ is M.I.A., both of you captains need a ship. And since ships don't grow on trees, there is only one left. An old one, the _Freedom_. It's the only one available, and it is what you would call a 'fixer-upper'. We need a crew to explore the pipes after the Sentinel attack; see which lines are still operational, how many broadcast points are operational.

The other captains are working on the cleanup, but I need you two to go and patrol our borders and do a maintenance check".

"There's only one ship and there are two Captains" Niobe said, pointing out the obvious.

"Yes. You two will Co-Captain the _Freedom_. You leave in 24 hours. Morpheus, you are dismissed."

Morpheus exited Locke's office and shut the door behind him. He leaned up against the wall and waited for his co-Captain. _Co-Captain..._

Niobe stared at Locke, her stony expression never faltering. Mentally he wondered if Trinity had given the woman lessons on the 'cold shoulder stare'.

"You wished to see me Commander?" Niobe stated in a formal tone.

"Yes, Captain. Your behavior in the war was unsatisfactory. Giving away your ship without orders…piloting a ship recklessly through unsafe pipelines to make it back to Zion, and blowing an EMP which rendered all of our electronic equipment useless. It is only luck that the machine rooms of Zion weren't in the blast radius. Without oxygen or water, we would all be _dead_!" he shouted the last word to emphasize his point.

By this point, Niobe was dangerously agitated. "First of all, _Commander_, I gave away _my_ ship so that Neo and Trinity could go to the machine city and save all 250,000 of us. I piloted the ship back 'recklessly through unsafe pipelines' so that you would have more soldiers fighting against the machines. And I gave orders to trigger an EMP because without it there wouldn't even _be_ a Zion for us to worry if it didn't have water or oxygen. Hell, Jason, the crews of the Logos, Hammer, and Nebuchadnezzar should get a holiday in our honor, not a reprimand and co-captaincy of a ship"

Commander Locke stood up and walked over to her. "Niobe, I was worried about you." He reached up to brush a stray hair away from her cheek, but Niobe pushed him away. "No you weren't. Well, maybe a little, but you aren't compatible with worrying about a person. You were worried about your own ass, and what a failure could mean for your job."

She walked over and opened the door. Niobe turned around to look at him once more before leaving. "Some things never change, Jason."

Niobe shut the door and looked at Morpheus, whom she suspected had heard their whole conversation. If he had, he made no remark about it.

"Well c'mon," she said to him. "Let's go check out _our_ ship."

* * *

"Is this thing even operational?" Morpheus asked as the _Freedom_ came into view. It was old and rusted, clearly one of the first ships built. It was around the size of the Neb, but judging by its age Morpheus guessed that it only had 3 or 4 plugs into the Matrix. 

"I think the Neb is more operational than this" Niobe remarked as she noticed that one of the hover-pads was broken and currently had a crew of mechanics working on it.

A girl of around 18 ran up to the pair, nearly tripping over a metal pipe in the process. She had dark black hair that was tied back into a large braid and deep chocolate eyes that somehow blended perfectly with her tan skin tone. She wore simple mechanics clothes; not that much different than clothes worn by the crew of a ship.

"Greetings, captains. My name is Raven, and I am the current maintenance engineer for the _Freedom_. We are trying to get her back into flying condition for tomorrow, although it could take some time."

"Would you like some help with the repairs?" Morpheus asked.

"That is not necessary, but you are welcome if you wish. I know that Niobe was an excellent engineer before she was a Captain."

Niobe smiled and grabbed a socket wrench. This…Raven…had gotten on her good side already, a nearly impossible feat. Morpheus smiled.

As they worked, Morpheus noted Raven's skill. Although she was only in her late teens, the girl had a lot of respect from her co-workers. They all took her advice, and she directed with the skill of a Captain. She was a good engineer, too. She had the 'handyman's touch' and was able to fix that broken hover-pad in a couple of hours with the help of a few other workers.

He stared at Niobe, who was busy re-wiring a control panel inside the cockpit of the ship. The only ones who would stay for the 'mission' from their combined crew would be Link and Ghost.

They were in need of an engineer…..

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	9. Under Locke and Key

**Don't come after me with sharp sticks for not updating sooner, I'm right in the middle of finals :) This chapter focuses on Raven, but the next one will be back with Neo and Trinity.**

**Oh, and a big shout-out to all of my reviewers. I love you all lots:D**

**-Stranger**

Disclaimer: I still don't own the Matrix. I do, however, own a half-empty water bottle. Or is it half-full…….?

**

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The Matrix: Resurrection

**Chapter 9: Under Locke and Key**

Raven ambled slowly towards Commander Locke's office. Her footsteps echoed lamely in the metal hallway; bouncing off of the walls and circling around her. Taking note of this, Raven softened her footsteps so she could walk in silence. She had done this ever since she was a child; try to blot out all noise. Her mother had died when she was only 5, and her father was a councilor, leaving Raven by herself more often than not. She found that the lack of noise was comforting to a grieving mind, and soon she grew accustomed to the silence. After a long day fixing ships, metal grinding and the sound of saws, it was calming to have no noise. In fact, it was her isolation (in a roundabout way) that brought her to the docks in the first place.

Raven's father found the silence unnerving, so at age 13 she was sent to the Academy to learn the skills of an operator. It was there that she met Rose, a pod-born who prided himself in being 'masculine' while still having a "girly" hacker name. In fact, he did look like a rose; what with his flaming red hair that was tied back into a low horsetail, and his air of arrogance that made him seem at least five inches taller than the five foot eleven that he was.

Rose had been unplugged at the age of 13, where he spent three years in the orphanage before coming to the Academy for pilot training. When Raven first came to the Academy, Rose was 18, and he also worked in the shipyard before and after school. The pair met, and although their friendship got off to a rocky start (Rose had been certain his eyebrows would _never_ grow back), they soon became inseparable. It was then that Rose introduced Raven to the shipyard. She immediately fell in love with the place, and devoted her time to working there as well.

It was in the cockpit of a broken down ship that Raven received her first kiss, from Rose, although they both had been quite inebriated at the time and had been working around gas fumes. It was on an empty loading dock that Raven built her first working hip engine single handedly, and placed it with joy inside the Hammer. After nearly plummeting to her death from atop the hover pad of the Logos, it was Neo who had saved her life, and she thanked the Heavens that he just happened to be walking by at the time. It was also on an empty loading dock where Raven received a proper kiss from Rose, and neither was the least bit drunk at the time.

Raven smiled as she recollected that memory, turning a corner into another long and enclosed hallway. Rose had signed up for engineer/pilot of a ship about 10 months ago, giving the Dock Head Engineer job to her. It was a huge honor, and she was proud to wear the Head Engineer logo on her uniform. Sure, Raven didn't get to see Rose all of the time, but the _Merit_ still returned twice as much as the former Nebuchadnezzar did, and for that she was glad.

Finally, Raven arrived at Commander Locke's door. Knocking twice, she pushed open the door, not even bothering to wait for a response.

"Ah, Raven, welcome. Please, take a seat."

Raven did as she was instructed, crossing her legs up underneath her. Already, she noticed that Locke's tone was fake and formal; the kind of tone you used to speak to invalids or tiny children.

"You have been assigned to a ship crew, have you not? The _Freedom_?"

"Yes, sir." Short and forward; the proper way to address one's elders. She'd had the most trouble with that rule at the militaristic Academy. Raven had collected many a detentions in her years there; something that displeased her father.

"When do you leave Zion?"

"Day after tomorrow, sir. Repairs should be done by then; I'll see to it."

"That's right; you'll need a replacement head engineer at the docks." Locke looked smug that he had put her on the spot, but Raven had already formed an answer. Really, he acted as if she were eight instead of eighteen.

"I've asked Hijinx to cover as the temporary Dock Head Engineer, as I'm not sure the Freedom will be a permanent move for me. I'd like to have something to fall back on."

Locke looked stunned that an 18 year old would plan for the future, but her recovered from his shock in record time. He attempted to make small-talk, something that Raven loathed intensely.

"Looks like you're trying to start a new women's rights movement, what with two women in a row taking on a man's job."

Leave it to Deadbolt to be sexist, Raven thought wearily. "I'm a new-age 'Rosie the Riveter'."

"Who?" Of course, she thought, Locke would have no idea.

Raven sighed. "Never mind." Rose had told her about the famous propaganda when he had caught her flexing her muscles and her hair tied back in a bandanna.

"Raven, I'd like you to do something for me while you're gone. Captains Morpheus and Niobe have been known to..._disregard_ the rules in the past. I need to….make sure they are doing their jobs corre-"

"You want me to spy on them." It wasn't even posed as a question; she _knew_ what he wanted. In fact, she'd suspected it the moment she had received her summons. Raven was surprised it had taken him this long. _'He just wants someone to do the dirty work for him,'_ she thought, mulling it over in her head. _'Keep the crew under Locke and Key'_. Raven chuckled slightly at her pun.

"Spying is such a harsh term..."

:Well that's what it is. The captains are good people, and although their tactics may be a little unorthodox, we are still here, commander. And you should be thankful to them. I'm dismissing myself, commander. We're leaving in two days time."

Raven stood up and opened the door. "Oh, and commander," she pumped her hand in a fist and flexed her bicep. "We Can Do It."

Raven shut the door behind her and laughed.

* * *

The walk back to her room was not as pleasant as the trek to Locke's office. His words kept floating around in her head. _"I need you to make sure they are doing their jobs correctly" "I need you to make sure they are doing their jobs correctly."_

Finally reaching her apartment, she flung open the door and flopped down on the bed, smothering her face in the pillows. "I need some sleep" she mumbled into the fabric.

"Well, I thought you'd be at least a _little_ excited to see me."

Raven whipped her head up and looked around. Sitting in the shadows at a table was the figure of a grinning man.

"Rose!"

Raven jumped up and tackled him, barely keeping balance as the chair rocked precariously back and forth.

"That's a little better," he said grinning, a loose piece of hair in front of his eyes.

"When did you get back?"

"Just an hour ago. I looked for you at the docks, but I couldn't find you anywhere."

She huffed. "Deadbolt called me to his office."

He looked offended. "I'm only gone for a month, and already other people are hitting on my girlfriend."

Raven playfully slapped his arm. "No," she began seriously, "I've been asked to join a ship. The _Freedom_."

Rose looked confused. "But that's an old geezer ship. It doesn't even have a-"

"Morpheus and Niobe are going to captain it."

He had a blank look on his face for a moment, before he grinned and spun Raven around in the air. "That's great! You are so lucky, getting a job with Morpheus and Niobe!"

Raven sighed with relief. She had thought he was going to be upset that they would see even less of each other than they did now. The sheer joy of the moment made her lift her lean up to kiss him, moving his stray hair out of his eyes.

"So when do you leave?" Rose mumbled against her lips when they pulled apart.

"Day...after...tomorrow" she replied in-between short lips to his neck.

"Oh good," he replied cheerfully, picking Raven up bridal style. "Then we have lots of time to say goodbye."

Raven giggled as Rose threw her onto their bed.


	10. Strength

**I know, I know, by now you people are probably tired of me making excuses on behalf of the late chapters. Well, this one was late only because I am lazy, and my artistic muse has apparantly also gone on summer vacation...**

**The next chapter switches back to the Zion chapters, only because they need to catch up with the Neo/Trinity chapters.**

_Disclaimer: -sighs- Still not mine. If only...

* * *

_

**The Matrix: Resurrection  
Chapter 10: Strength**

Things were not going as peachy and perfect for our fallen heroes. Trinity had lapsed into a mode of utter silence, a mood that Neo remembered from when he first arrived aboard the Nebuchadnezzar. Every few minutes, she would turn around to glare daggers in his direction, and there would be an involuntary twinge of pain in his groin at the remembrance of her earlier threats. At least Trinity was _acknowledging_ his presence this time around.

"_Neo, could you _please_ stop making that infernal racket?", Trinity had asked rather impatiently one morning, about three months after the Morpheus rescue, as Neo drummed his fingers atop the mess hall table._

"_Aww c'mon, Trin, I'm just bored. There haven't been any trips to the Matrix in **days**_!_" _

"Would you rather be in the Matrix wreaking havoc and kicking Agent-ass?" she asked coolly, taking a sip from her mug of water.

"_Yes", he replied smugly, "I would."_

_Trinity peered at him from atop her cup, her eyes going steely and grey; not a good sign._

"_The Matrix is not a video game, Neo. We are fighting a war here, not playing a rousing game of 'Cops and Robbers'."_

_His voice began to rise as he replied, "I of all people should know that, **Trinity**. I'm out there risking my life everyday by fighting Agents. What do **you** do when you see an Agent, hmm? You prance away towards the nearest exit in your dominatrix Catwoman suit, constantly yelling Trinity-coined phrases, like 'Dodge this!', over your shoulder."_

_That had stung, and Neo knew it. Trinity's eyes were smoking, and she looked like a lioness sizing up her prey._

'How dare he comment on my abilities,' _she thought._ 'He has no right!'

"_Maybe you do think you are just playing a game, Neo, but let me tell you something. People are **dieing** out there because of the machines. And once peoples' lives are involved, it is no longer a game. It is reality. But maybe, therein lays your problem. Maybe you can't tell the difference between what's real and what's not real, reality and a game, the cold hard truth and the Rabbit Hole. Maybe you are just too immature to understand."_

_Something inside Neo snapped. _

_"Well, maybe you are an icy bitch who only finds satisfaction in having no heart.", he roared._

_Trinity let out a feral growl and hurled her water at Neo's head with deadly accuracy. She stormed from the mess hall and slammed the door behind her._

They hadn't spoken to each other for at least two weeks after that particular row, which put a strain on the rest of the crew as well. However, both of them soon couldn't stand being apart for very long. Neither was sure who apologized first, as all coherent thoughts for the couple disappeared for the entire evening. The next morning, as Trinity snuggled sleepily up to his bare chest, and his fingers traced delicious patterns against the skin of her hips, Neo vowed never to let them get _that_ mad at each other ever again.

But, inadvertently, they had.

Neo was so lost in thought that it took the sticky wetness of a barrier crossing to snap him back into attention. Trinity was in front of him, surveying the landscape that fell before her.

They seemed to be near a coast, that was for certain, as the salty air wafted into her nose and chapped at her lips. All of the buildings were made of stone, and set into the surrounding hills, which made everything seem very crowded together. It reminded Trinity of the pictures she had seen of Greece when she was a young girl. Her stepmother had visited there, once, and had sent her a post-card. So maybe that's where they were. Greece.

She turned back to Neo, who was also glancing around. When he turned his head away from hers, Trinity fought strongly to repress the urge telling her to go push him to the ground.

'Relax, Trinity," she told herself. 'You're not really mad, you're just upset, that's all.'

Because both of them were otherwise occupied, neither noticed the tall man step lightly up between them. It took a rather loud "Ciao!" to knock them from their subconscious.

Trinity braced herself for an attack, but the man shook his hands and started babbling frantically.

"Non faccia quello! Ci non è ancora un motivo combatterlo. Per ora, vengo nella pace. Benvenuto alla mia sede."

Trinity looked ahead with cold eyes, while Neo cocked his head in confusion.

"Ah," he whispered. "My apologies. I forget that not everyone speaks Italian."

Okay, not Greece. Italy.

"I said, 'Do not do that! There is no reason to fight, at least not yet. For now, I come in peace. Welcome to my home.'"

The phrase 'for now, I come in peace' made Trinity extra cautious, but she nodded her head in greeting all the same. It gave her a chance to size him up. The man was tall, around 6 foot 5, and he had short-cropped black hair that reminded her of Neo's when it was first growing out. He had accentuated cheekbones, which made his brown eyes stand out against almost lighter brown skin. He was dressed in a white sarong, with a maroon sash draped over one shoulder, and matching sandals adorned his feet.

The man looked towards the pair and began speaking in a thick Italian accent. "Oh, forgive my rudeness! I forgot to properly introduce myself. My name is Alessandro, but please call me by my hacker name, Prophet."

Neo nodded his head. "Pleasure."

"I'm sure." Prophet commented, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "As you have already gone through two tests, it is my job to test you on your next attribute. Strength. An important skill that every One needs, although some people lack it. Strength is not just about physical strength, but emotional as well."

Prophet looked Neo up and down. "You excel in both categories, but I can see that you have dealt with many emotional things in your past." He clucked slightly. "Only a few tests will tell if you have indeed the strength needed to proceed."

Neo sighed rather dramatically, causing a huffing noise to come from Trinity's direction. He shot her a look before turning back to Prophet, seeing her roll her eyes through the back of his head.

"What do I have to do?"

Prophet's eyes sparkled. "I have set up a, _what do you call it?_, oh yes, an obstacle course. You must pass each piece before moving onto the next, but it is timed, and I don't think you will like what will happen if you run out."

In normal circumstances, Neo would have looked at Trinity and asked her if she was ready to proceed, communicating only with their eyes, but these were not normal circumstances.

"Alright, let's begin."

Prophet nodded, snapped his fingers, and, for the second time that day, Trinity disappeared into thin air.

"What did you do to her?" Neo growled. He attempted to move, but found that his legs would not budge.

"Relax, man-child. Your lover is safe. I told you that you would not like what would happen if you fail. If you do not make it to the end in time, then she will be kept here forever."

Prophet didn't even flinch as Neo shouted curses and violently attempted to remove his bindings. "I daresay, I've been in the need of some company."

"La vostra madre è un cane!" Neo shouted in Italian, one of the few Italian phrases he remembered from High School, mainly because of its insulting nature.

Prophet shook his head, comically sad. "Do not draw my mother into this, Neo. She would be very displeased."

He floated up into the air, just high enough where Neo couldn't jump and reach his dangling feet.

"For your first task, you must move this boulder until it is resting upon that red mark over there." With a seemingly bored wave of his hand, Prophet materialized the said items.

"And I would hurry, if I were you." He remarked as he released Neo from his prison. "There is much at stake."

Neo's eyes were drawn to Prophet's, and as he followed his gaze he noticed Trinity trapped inside a large hourglass. The sand from the top was falling on her head, and, had the situation been even remotely comical, Neo would have remarked how it looked like dandruff.

"Il tempo sta sprecando, ragazzo piccolo." Prophet remarked. "You had better hurry."

Mumbling various curses in various languages, Neo sprinted off towards the boulder. Upon reaching it, he immediately turned to look at Trinity. The sand was halfway up her boot-heel. He began to push at the boulder, but paused every few seconds to view Trinity's fate. The sand was now up to the top of her boot-heel, now the bootlaces, now her ankle.

"Stop it!" Neo said to himself. "This is what Prophet, and the Architect, meant. I need to focus and not be blinded by my emotions."

With renewed passion, Neo began to push the rock with such determination that it did not take very much time at all. Glancing back at Trinity, he noticed the sand was at her calves, dangerously close to her knees. She watched him and silently pleaded him to move forward. With one last push and grunt, the boulder was at its marked destination.

"Well done," Prophet remarked. "Second task- Lift this boulder up and throw it to that red mark over there." He used his pointer finger to indicate the new target.

Neo sized up the boulder. He opened his mouth to reply 'That's impossible!', but closed it and decided to try it anyways.

Positioning himself behind the rock, he bent down and gripped the bottom edge with his fingers. Using his weight for balance, he hoisted the rock into the air and sent it flying as far as he could.

It was about 2 yards from the mark.

"Too bad," Prophet commented as though this was nothing more than afternoon amusement to him, "You'll need to try again."

The boulder disappeared from its new location and popped back into place in front of Neo's feet. 'I'm too weak,' he thought dejectedly to himself. As he bent down again to pick it up, bits of almost long-forgotten conversations began to float into his head.

_Do you believe that my being stronger or faster has anything to do with my muscles in this place? _

What are you waiting for? You're faster than this. Don't think you are, know you are.

_Come on. Stop trying to hit me and hit me._

_You have to let it all go, Neo, fear, doubt, and disbelief. Free your mind._

Neo stared at a crack in the boulder. 'I know I can pick up this godforsaken rock.' Taking another look at Trinity, he saw that the sand was almost to her hipbones. 'I don't think I can, I know I can.'

He hoisted the rock up into the air and threw it with all of his might. The boulder literally whistled as it flew, coming to a screeching halt as it careened into the ground with a heavy momentum.

Prophet surveyed the damage. "Well done. You are ready for task three."

"And what is that?" Neo asked, panting for breath.

"Third task- Fight me. Hand to hand combat. Beginning...now"

Prophet didn't even give Neo a chance to argue before he lunged in to strike. Apparently, he had been trained in Eastern martial arts styles, so Neo felt right at home. Neo sidestepped a punch and bent down in an attempt to kick Prophet's feet from under him, but the taller man used height to his advantage and flipped over Neo's back, kicking him and sending him skidding a few feet away. He heard a sickening crunch near his right foot.

As Neo stood up to wipe a trail of blood from his mouth, he looked in Trinity's direction. The sand was up to her breasts.

This was not good.

Neo emitted a battle cry and lunged towards Prophet again, moving his arms in circles for a distraction. When Prophet became focused on his hands, Neo hooked a foot aroundhis left ankle, effectively getting the result he wanted earlier. While he was down, Neo took the opportunity to land a few good punches before he was thrown off.

Prophet had a bloody nose, and his left eye was swollen shut, but his right eye blazed with such a strong determination that Neo thought to shield his eyes.

Prophet made the sound of a defeated man trying to make his last stand as he ran towards Neo, arms outstretched and ready to attack. It only took one falter in his step, and Neo took advantage of that to knock him backwards. The older man moaned in pain on the ground.

"Task three...is completed" he muttered and effectively blacked out.

"Trinity", Neo whispered. Turning to look at the hourglass, he saw that the sand was creeping up the base of her neck.

Running as fast as he could with a swelling right ankle, Neo reached the hourglass in record speed. The sand was up to her chin now. Although he couldn't be sure, he swore he heard a faint "Hurry" before her air passages were cut off.

Using only his fists, Neo began beating on the hourglass as if his life depended on it.

And it did. He knew that he couldn't survive without Trinity. Finally making a crack in the glass, Neo punched the spot again and it shattered, spraying his arm with glass fragments. There were a few cuts on his arm, and a particularly deep one on his wrist that oozed dark crimson, but he ignored the pain.

Trinity's body slowly cascaded down the mountain of sand, and he gripped her in his arms as tiny white particles pooled around them.

"I'm sorry for being mad at you Neo," she whispered quietly. "I'm sorry..."

Trinity' head lolled to one side. After checking the pulse point in her neck, and finding that she was only unconscious, he walked back over to Prophet, Trinity curled up in his arms. The man was now sitting up and healing his eye. Upon hearing the footsteps, he turned to face the pair.

"Well done. You two can pass through here safely. Off you go." he said, with a curt tone.

"Wait," Neo stated when Prophet went back to mending his cuts. "Heal her."

"I am too busy healing myself." He replied nonchalantly.

Balancing his weight on his bad foot, Neo struck out with his good one to kick a sore looking bruise on the man's thigh. Prophet yelped.

"Alright, alright!"

The air around them hummed as Prophet seemed to be working his magic. Neo's foot felt slightly better, so he knew something was happening, whether it be for better or for worse.

Trinity's eyes blinked open violently and she wriggled out of Neo's grasp to stand on the floor beside him. This action hurt him deeply, until she grabbed his hand and squeezed it tight.

"No matter how tough things get between us, Neo, I'm never letting go."

Prophet surveyed the lovers from the ground.

"You two are permitted to leave. Be wary, young travelers, the road ahead is a dangerous one. Lasci nella pace. Ricordisi delle lezioni che avete imparato."

Taking that as a sign to leave, the two nodded a dismissal and started off. Neo was limping slightly, and he relied on Trinity's shoulder for balance.

"Trinity...I'm sorry for not telling you sooner about the Architect. I thought it would be best if you didn't know."

"Well, you thought wrong." She replied sharply. Softening her tone, she added. "I shouldn't have reacted so harshly. You did what you thought was best."

Neo leaned in to kiss her lightly, applying only enough pressure so that her fingertips tingled with warmth.

"Let's get going" he whispered against her mouth, not even bothering to pull his face away, "Who knows what lies behind us."

"Or ahead of us." She murmured quietly as Neo braced himself against her shoulder again. Somehow, she knew that things were not going to get easier before they got harder. They never did.

* * *

A gigantic Morpheus-style hug to all of my readers/reviewers who've put up with me since chapter 1. 

And I'm sorry if I butchered the Italian. I just ran it through Babelfish both ways, so I know it's not completely accurate. I would love if someone could give me a correct translation. :D

Here is a rough translation of the text.

**-"Non faccia quello! Ci non è ancora un motivo combatterlo. Per ora, vengo nella pace. Benvenuto alla mia sede."** Do not do that! There is no reason to fight, at least not yet. For now, I come in peace. Welcome to my home.

**- "La vostra madre è un cane!" **Your mother is a dog!

**- "Il tempo sta sprecando, ragazzo piccolo"** You're wasting time, little boy.

- **"Lasci nella pace. Ricordisi delle lezioni che avete imparato." **Leave in peace. Remember the lessons that you have learned.


	11. First Steps

**I know, I know. It's been a LONG time since I've updated. Well, I was grounded for a while...and then I just lost motivation to type this up. I really don't like this chapter...but I thought I'd post something for my poor readers. -Stranger**

_Disclaimer: The Matrix doesn't belong to me. I'm only borrowing characters for a brief jaunt in the park. I promise to return them by 8:00 pm... _

**The Matrix: Resurrection**

**Chapter 11: First Steps**

Attempting to yawn quietly and unnoticeably, Raven shielded her mouth with the back of her hand, pretending to be extremely fascinated by a tiny freckle situated near her wrist bone. It wouldn't look good for her position as a 'green' recruit to look under slept and, truth be told, she hadn't gotten very much sleep in the last 48 hours due to various other activities that occupied her time. She was seated on a rusted metal bench located near the port side of the Freedom. A worn and ragged duffel bag beside her carried everything she needed for her stay, however long it may be. Raven's hair was pulled back into a low horsetail ("Oh so now you're crampin' my style?" Rose had asked that morning, and she still had no idea what that meant.), and she wore the standard crew uniform. "Raspberry Red! The newest fall color." Niobe had told her dryly when the captain handed over her standard issue clothing bundle.

Raven had been sad, and even a touch nostalgic to hand her Head Engineer emblem over (in a sense, she was being demoted), but Hijinx was a good temporary replacement, and even a good permanent one should the need arise. The older woman with short-cropped platinum hair had accepted the badge gratefully, and told Raven that she would "keep it shiny, for when she returned." That was an inside joke between the mechanical staff, for Raven did have an affinity for all things shiny, and they often called her Crow, saying that she had been named after the wrong bird.

A dark skinned man with uneven dreadlocks plopped down beside her, looking as though he had just woken up. A string of silver necklaces clinked together from around his wrist.

"Hey Link", Raven said when he threw his pack on the ground.

"Raven! What are you doing-?" Link spotted her bag. "You're the new recruit? Damn! Morpheus told me I knew the newbie, I should have known."

Raven grinned. She and Link were very distant cousins (but then again, almost all free born in Zion were related to each other somehow), but he treated her as if she were his little sister.

He smiled back at her. "Who knows what sort of mischief we'll get up to now that you're on board?"

"I'm here to work," she said, poking him playfully in the ribs, "and so are you."

"Now that's the kind of attitude I like to hear," mentioned a voice from directly behind them.

Raven turned around to see a tall Asian man with a blue pack slug over his shoulder.

"Hey!" Link nodded a hello to the newcomer. "Raven, I don't know if you've met, but this is-"

"Ghost." She finished. "We've met. I've had to fix the Logos's firing guns many times. They're practically melted together when I get my hands on the. Some of the best damn shooting aftermath that I've ever seen."

Ghost didn't show any emotion, but he seemed to glow slightly with pride. He surveyed the area. "The captains?"

"Missing in action." Raven informed him.

He nodded. "They're together somewhere. Probably bickering."

"Or making sweet love." Link added with a lusty wink. Ghost looked shocked, and his eyes darted between Link and Raven.

"Don't worry, I'm 18 even though I look young, and I'm certainly not impressionable. Besides," she added with wicked amusement, "That's what I was doing before I got here."

It was Link's turn to be shocked, and his mouth opened to suck air like a suffocating fish out of water. Ghost stared past them. "Well, from the sound of_ that_, I think I was the right one."

Over the din of metal screeches and humming engines, two voices could distinctly be heard having some sort of conversation (and the term was being used lightly). The female voice was slightly louder and shriller than the male's who seemed to be trying to pacify the hot-headed woman. A mechanic dropped a monkey wrench in fear as the couple walked by.

"Could just be part of their ruse." Raven commented, and Ghost stifled a chuckle, masterfully turning it into a strangled cough.

Niobe and Morpheus only stopped arguing when they reached their haggard crew. Niobe turned to the three. "Get your asses on board. If we leave in the hour, you all get to eat tonight." The air crackled as she walked and she entered the ship, Morpheus in tow like a scolded puppy.

"Wow." Raven stared wide-eyed after the captains. Link picked up his pack and slung it over his shoulder, Raven doing the same.

"Hope you weren't expecting the red carpet treatment." Link muttered as he and Ghost walked side by side, Raven trudging slightly behind them.

Don't worry; they're not usually like this." Ghost mentioned. "It'd like to think it's because they're being forced to work together as_ equals_. And Niobe was just kidding about the food thing."

He turned to look back at Raven over his shoulder. "I hope."

Exactly 54 minutes later, the Freedom pulled out of the Zion docks much to the happiness of the crew, with Niobe behind the wheel. Morpheus was keeping his distance with good reason, as an angry Niobe was liable to place a knee where it hurt most, so he hung back with the crew in the mess hall.

"Alright, room assignments. I would normally do it 'first come, first serve', but you three didn't make it this far only to be trampled while trying to find the best room.

"I am the first door on the right. Niobe's the second and Link is the third. Ghost, you're the first on the left, and Raven you're the second. Go unpack yourself and meet back here in 30 minutes for a briefing." He nodded a dismissal and the three headed off to the core for their belongings.

The whole ship was a tad larger than the Logos on the outside, but it was much smaller on the inside. Everyone was confused about this until Raven had unscrewed a piece of paneling to discover the fire-hazard amount of old wiring tangled behind.

"_Well, at least now we know why the walls are so thick" Niobe had said. "Faulty 30 year old wiring."_

"_Good thing my people did a thorough inspection." Raven grumbled as she held up a wire that was beginning to fray around the edges. She grimaced as Link hissed._

"_Will this be a problem for us?" Morpheus asked._

"_A team of electricians inspected yesterday at 0800 hours, according to the maintenance log. I wasn't on-duty at the time, but there was no word to suggest that they didn't do a top-notch job."_

_Morpheus had nodded, and the crew left Raven alone to screw the paneling back in._

Raven grabbed her pack from behind an old computer terminal and located her room. It was small, dank, and made entirely of metal, but at least it was her own. Not like the Academy dorm rooms, where everyone knew your business, whether you wanted them to or not. She threw her duffel bag on the floor and slowly began to pull out her clothes. Two tightly wrapped bundles, the standard crew issue.

Her hand clinked against something hard as Raven pulled out her boots. She lifted it out of her bag and discovered that the metal noise came from a picture frame. Raven stared at the back for a while in confusion before turning it over. What met her eyes on the other side made tiny, salty tears cloud the bottom half of her vision.

On the front was a picture of her and Rose, taken at her 18th birthday celebration (she recognized the background). The couple was hugging in the front, and both of them were extremely happy. Who knew that in just five months, their entire world would turn upside down? Just at a glance, she could see three people who were war casualties, men and women who had died so young to protect their home. Her father was standing in the background, and although he had a smile plastered on his face, Raven could tell that he was generally unhappy.

She ran her fingers over the smooth glass surface before placing it down on her perfectly made bed. Stifling a wet giggle, she realized that the bed would probably never look like that again, with its hospital corners and symmetrical creases.

Raven stood up and surveyed her room, casting an eye over the tiny space.

"I guess I'm not in Kansas anymore." She thought whimsically before walking out, shutting the door with a clank behind her.

**Alright, well the line button isn't working for me...eurgh. I'll go back and fix that eventually.**

**Just in case anyone's wondering, I plan on doing a backstory to Rose and Raven's life, and a 3 part saga on Trinity's. Once this mess is finished. I also have a couple of Matrix one-shots planned, so keep your eyes out...**


	12. Disobedience

**I really cannot seem to get this out on time. Every time I want to write, all of the glorious ideas just vacate my head, and I am forced to just stare blankly at the computer monitor. :)**

**Much love to all of my new reviewers! And a big prod to everyone who didn't review the last chapter. :D**

**This starts off with the 'Zion' POV, but does get back to Neo/Trinity about half-way through. And I know, I'm bad for having such a short chapter after a really long time without an update, but I already have the next chapter partially written. -Stranger**

_Disclaimer: The Matrix belongs to the Wachowski Brothers. Plot/Original Characters belong to me. And since I don't like sharing, I wouldn't use them if I were you. :P

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**The Matrix: Resurrection**

**Chapter 12: Disobedience**

The closer Raven got to the mess hall, the more she could make out the quiet chatter of the crew. They were arguing about something, but doing so at a low volume, presumably so she couldn't hear them. As she opened the door to the hall, the conversation immediately stopped, and all eyes turned to her. If they were trying to conceal their secret 'meeting', then they were doing a rather poor job of it. Niobe's head was rested on one of her hands, and she shot a look over at Morpheus, looking for all the world like she was terribly exhausted. He cleared his throat and beckoned with his large fingers for Raven to come and sit down. Warily, she obeyed, taking a seat next to Link, across the table from the captains.

It was Morpheus who started talking; no doubt because of Niobe's semi-obvious prodding. "Raven, there are some things we'd like to discuss with you before we get any farther away from Zion. Because, if you want to afterwards, we can still take you back."

Ghost and Link looked at each other and the Asian man raised an eyebrow. Link shook his head, and whatever silent conversation they were having, Raven couldn't decipher it.

"I am fairly certain, sir, that whatever you tell me will not make me want to leave your service." Her chin jutted forward defiantly, and Morpheus's lips twitched into a brief smile.

"When you signed aboard this ship, it was made clear to you that the Freedom was going to be a maintenance and inspection ship, searching the pipelines for whatever we can find." Morpheus looked her straight in the eyes. "However, you may or may not know that I and my crew have an affinity for disobedience. We do intend to inspect the main pipeline, but only doing so as we make our way to the surface."

The color in Raven's face blanched to a lighter shade. She asked, "Sir, what are we doing on the surface?" Although she already had an idea, and that made the hair stand up on the back of her neck. She had never been more than a few hundred kilometers out of the city before; this...this was a totally new experience.

"We intend on going to the machine city." When Morpheus heard no interruption from anyone, he continued. "We want to know what happened to Neo and Trinity. They could be alive, but stranded along the way; or they could have made it the entire way to Machine City, and are in need of our help. If anything, we can bring back their bodies and give them a proper soldier's burial." He choked up a bit on the last sentence, and took a moment to regain his composure. This was definitely a different Morpheus than Raven had ever seen back in Zion.

Niobe took over from there. "We know that this is a highly dangerous and completely unauthorized mission, and when we return to Zion there could be a squad of Army Officials waiting to take us to the stockades instead of a huge welcoming party. But, it is something we must do. The four of us," she waved her hands to indicate the more experienced crew sitting at the table, "knew the pair too well to assume they just gave up without a fight. And the war, we hope, has finally ended, so maybe Neo and Trinity achieved their goal after all."

Morpheus nodded. "As I said earlier, Raven, you do not have to continue this journey with us. If you want, we can turn around and drop you off in Zion, and will think no less of you. What we are asking requires trust; trust in your captains, trust in your crew, and trust in yourself.

Raven looked down at the table in silent contemplation for a moment before rising her head, eyes sparkling with passion and interest. "I will continue to serve aboard the Nebuchadnezzar." She stated proudly. Even quieter, she mumbled, "If only to see what happens to us once we get back."

Ghost chuckled, and Raven was once again dismissed to her quarters. There were only four hours until the start of her shift, and she hoped to get in even a wink's worth of sleep. Hearing the metallic clanking behind her was somehow comforting, as she lay down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

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Neo thought the silence was a little unnerving. He and Trinity had passed the barrier a while back, and nothing significant had happened yet. They were now in a barren landscape, snow falling gently all around them. There was a soft blanket of the white stuff on the ground already, and more was beginning to build up as Neo and Trinity walked. When they'd first crossed, the ground was lush and green, but it had gotten more and more frozen the farther they went. 

Neo's ankle was beginning to smart as he walked in the cold, and he severely hoped he wouldn't have one of those appendages that could predict the weather. Trinity wasn't doing all that well, either. She was still in that spaghetti strap shirt and those ridiculously short shorts. He could clearly see the goose bumps on her flesh, although she was pretending like she was doing fine. Neo had tried earlier to put her back into her normal RSI clothes, but he couldn't seem to manipulate anything in this new place.

He slid his black trench coat off of his shoulders and onto hers. Neo was glad they were on speaking terms again; otherwise Trinity wouldn't have accepted it with a small smile. She might have thrown it down in the snow, making it all wet just so he couldn't be warm either, had they not already sorted out their differences.

As they started up a hill, the snow picked up and began to mask their vision. Neo placed a hand over his eyes in order to see clearly, squinting in an effort to find a spot of clarity through the white blotches. He could feel the wind rattling his shirt collar, and an icy breeze rolled down the inside of his shirt, effectively chilling him to the bone. Gritting his teeth against the frigid temperature, Neo pushed on through the snow. The wind was forcing against them, making it even harder to take a step forward.

Trinity was right beside him; he could feel her hand every so often brushing up against his, but it was becoming even more difficult to hear her.

The wind began to blow even harder, whistling shrilly. Two of Neo's senses were now hindered, and 'Touch' wouldn't last much longer if his hands stayed out in this weather.

"Trinity!" he called out into the madness, groping madly for her hand. Finally, he found her frozen digits and felt his way up to her shoulder. "I'm going to try and fly us out of this."

Neo couldn't tell if she agreed or disagreed, as he couldn't see more than an inch in front of his numb fingers. The wind stung his face, and chilled his neck. For a split second, he selfishly wished he hadn't given away his coat.

He felt his way down Trinity's side, gripping his arms around her waist. This normally erotic action had no effect on either of them, as the situation was serious.

Neo closed his eyes and tried to block out all senses coming in. He struggled to see the code; it was there, but he couldn't seem to change it. Each time he tried, Neo got a splitting headache. Finally fed up, Neo growled and used all of his might to rearrange the code. It shimmered for a minute and then all of the code seemed to buzz in his skull. It got louder and louder, rattling his bones, until he just couldn't stand the pressure any more.

As Neo collapsed to the icy ground, the last thing he heard was a strangled cry of "NEO!" coming from his lover's lips, just barely audible over the howling wind.

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	13. Skill

**Words cannot even express how deeply sorry I am that this is so late. I promised it'd be out in December, after my long month of NaNoWriMo, yet I couldn't seem to get the momentum to finish it. And then once my beta returned it, it took me nearly two weeks to edit and post.**

**As an apology, I made this longer than I was going to. And as a side note, I have now been writing this story for over a year. :D**

**-Stranger (Devonwood)**

_Disclaimer: See girl. See girl type. Type, girl, type! (Still not mine)_

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**The Matrix: Resurrection**

**Chapter 13: Skill**

_The large man-made machine burst through the pipes and plummeted out of the underground to hover just above the surface. A surface that had only previously been seen by two people in the last fifty years. As the five inhabitants of the machine stared out over the frozen desert and rolling clouds of thick, foggy, thunder and danger, they swallowed audibly, all secretly wondering if this would be the last thing they ever saw._

The first thing that registered in Neo's battered and confused mind was that he had a splitting headache. That was most obviously his first thought, as the pain was closest to his nervous system, but as his eyes blinked more and more steadily, he felt the pain trickle all the way down his body and pool in his feet uncomfortably. As he shifted his weight to the other side, flipping his body over, Neo felt the material under him; a sleeping roll. More than just a little confused, he sat up, immediately wishing he didn't when a shooting star of pain seared through his head and made jagged red lines run across his vision. Moaning loudly, he placed his head in his hands, rubbing his temples lightly with his forefingers.

The room was deadly quiet, so it was easy to hear the sound of a chair scraping against the floor coming from a far away place. He ignored it, since Neo still wasn't sure where he was, and the room wasn't giving him any hints. It was stark white, save for the sleeping pallet which was original by being a creamy shade of off-white. It reminded Neo a lot of a hospital, although there wasn't the familiar scent of cleaner and sick people. The sheer lack of color made his eyes burn, until he stared down at his own skin, which thankfully was peach. He couldn't even remember how many times he'd been called Whitey in school, yet now he was the most colorful thing around.

The white door burst open, and Neo only had enough time to make out a black whir of movement before he was tackled back to the floor in a bone crushing hug. The pain in his head all rushed back, and he whimpered slightly, the edges of his vision blurring for a brief second. He recognized the weight on top of him, though, and ran a hand along her back. Many nights, this same weight had rested on him, pushing down on him, and he would be a fool not to remember it.

Trinity pulled her face away from his shoulder, her eyes wet as if she had been crying. Neo felt a sting on his shoulder; she had slapped him. Hard.

"Don't –slap- you ever –slap- do that to me –slap- again! –slap slap-"

Now blinked and rubbed his shoulder with his free hand, the other pinned under him by Trinity's weight.

"I, uh...I'm sorry?"

She fixed a cold gaze on him, although Neo could tell that she was upset, and not truly angry.

"You've been unconscious for hours, Coppertop" she said by way of explanation, resorting back to his 'green' nickname and using her authoritative 'Don't fuck with me' voice.

"And this time," she added softly, "I couldn't jack in anywhere to save you."

Ah, Neo realized. She had been scared out of her mind. He patted her shoulder, and Trinity cleared her throat, composing herself once again. She pulled herself off of Neo's body, and he tried the best he could not to sigh in relief, though he wondered whether it would have been so bad had she stayed right where she was.

"Your feet are frostbitten, as well as some parts of your hands." She began emotionlessly, obviously desperate to get back in control of things. No matter how much time she and Neo had spent unraveling her hard exterior, it still popped back every so often. "Orion wrapped you up as soon as he could, so everything should be okay. The-"

"Who is Orion?" Neo interrupted, wishing that he could stop being confused. The pain in his head had now receded to a dull and annoying throb, and every time he had to think more than necessary, it just increased.

"He's th-"

"I am Orion" called a voice from the doorway. Trinity looked like a wet and miffed cat at having been interrupted twice in a row, but she moved out of Neo's line of sight so that he could see who was now in the room.

A tall, lanky man stood in the light, the top of his hair nearly brushing against the top of the doorframe. He had long blonde hair that was tied into a horsetail at the nape of his neck, and two tiny braids hung like bangs on either side of his face. He was dressed simply in a pair of white cotton breeches and a tunic that was almost exactly the shade of dried blood. A long sword was hilted at his side, and a thin sheen of sweat covered his forehead as if he had just gotten done with a long fight.

Neo sat up again, shuffling his feet as he did so, which created a painful friction with the padding below him. He winced and pulled his feet out from underneath the blanket, seeing the white gauze bandages wrapped carefully and precisely around them.

"Let me guess," he started through slightly pain-clenched teeth. "You're Skill."

"That was quicker than the others." Orion mentioned aside to Trinity. Neo blinked; where had he heard that before?

"Yes, I am Skill. And I believe it dreadfully improper to rattle on about oneself, so I'll just give you the basic information about me. I am the second One, and I was born as Charles Hodgings. My parents were exceedingly wealthy, and I soon became bored with everything around me. I turned to a life of hacking, and that is where I first stumbled across the question that you know so well.

Once I arrived at the Architect, which was a lot easier back then, I must say, I chose to restart Zion. As we all did." He sighed, trailing off for a bit. "I was immediately brought here, where I have established a dojo. Although," he chuckled, "It's not as if there are many people who drop by. Trinity is the first real fight I've had in the longest time."

Neo looked stunned. "You fought him?"

"He refused to let me sit by your side." She mumbled, her eyes downcast towards the floor.

Orion laughed heartily. "It ended up as a tie, though."

Neo blinked and shuffled his legs again, forgetting instantly that it had been so painful the last time. Hot, white fire spiraled up his legs and sent blinding heat waves of pain down his spine, his head feeling as if someone had just bludgeoned him with a sharp object.

A flicker of worry crossed over Trinity's features, and Orion walked closer to Neo, crouching down on the floor with one leg farther in front of the other. He placed his hands on Neo's legs and pushed gently. At first, the pain caused by the slightest touch of pressure was unbearable, but soon the pain began to fade away as if it were smoke drifting off into the clouds, replaced by a cooling sensation of ice coldness. Within a mere moment, the only reminder of his frostbitten injury was the wraps around his feet, which Orion was slowly unraveling.

"Why did you heal me?" Neo asked gruffly, wiggling his toes once they were free. He was a little nonplussed at the situation, but tried his best not to show it.

"I would have thought you would have figured it out." Orion said nonchalantly, standing up and heading out the door. "I like to fight an even match." He stepped out.

Neo took the rest of the wrapping off and followed Orion out, Trinity walking a step behind him only because the hallway was not big enough to walk side by side. They came to a large room, a humongous dojo equipped with any fighting equipment one could possibly dream for. All of it had an Eastern flair, and from what Neo could tell, it was especially made for martial arts training. In the corner was a small, round, and flat wooden table that had three cups of tea on it.

"Come, sit." Orion said over his shoulder, plopping down on a colorful mat and picking up his own cup of tea. He sipped it cautiously, testing the temperature, and set it back down on the table. Orion quirked a curious eyebrow to Neo, who relayed nearly the exact same facial expression back to Trinity. Her face was emotionless, save for the tiniest quirk of her lips that told Neo that they should go ahead. It was the smallest gesture, although in the past six months Neo had gotten used to how subtly Trinity communicated. Hell, her "I love you" could be something as discreet as blinking longer than normal, or pursing her lips just the tiniest bit. Neo raised his eyebrows and a smile flickered across his features before he turned around and padded over to the table.

Orion had sat on the far side of the table, allowing Trinity and Neo to sit across from each other. As both of them were seasoned fighters, they stared at their drinks, trying to outweigh the possibilities that they were poisoned. You could never be too careful, a training instructor had told Neo when he first arrived in Zion, especially when you are disadvantaged by your opponent.

Orion, sensing their hesitation, chuckled and placed his own cup of tea back in its original spot. "Don't worry, I'm a man of my word. Honestly. I'll even take a sip out of your cups to test them for any harmful ingredients."

"That won't work." Trinity blurted in her commander voice. "You could have slipped a poison in that you yourself were immune to, and therefore it would give you no symptoms, although severely debilitating us."

Orion pursed his lips into a fine line that almost disappeared, his eyebrows scrunching in worry. "You have suffered too long the effects of war." He mentioned. There was a brief and awkward moment of silence before the second One spoke up again.

"If you're not going to drink, then we must fight now. Stalling will just be delaying the inevitable, and I would rather like to get this done before lunch. I planned a nice sprout sandwich with dill relish, and I don't want to miss it."

He got up and walked over to the mat, where he sat down and leaned to the right, pulling his toes closer to his body in a stretch. Neo shot a quizzical look to Trinity, and the two of them headed over to the opposite corner of the sparring mat. In almost perfect synchronization they sat down facing each other, placing their feet up against the other's. Leaning in towards each other, they linked hands, pulling both the thigh muscles and the shoulder muscles in one exercise. They had learned to do this in the small confined space of the Nebuchadnezzar, and it was a great relief for neck and back pain.

Orion looked up from what he was doing. "Trinity, why are you stretching? This is Neo's fight"

"A stretch is always good." She gritted as she stood up, bending her upper body backwards into a bridge and placing her hands on the floor behind her. After holding the position for a few seconds, she kicked her feet over her head, bringing herself to stand back upright.

Orion stood still for a moment before he grinned. As Neo stretched on the floor, Trinity brushed a stray piece of hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ears. She regarded Orion quizzically.

"You're planning something." She stated simply. Neo's head jerked up, and he kicked his feet out in front of him, arching his back so that he stood up without using his hands. He walked over to stand next to Trinity, both of them straight as a board. They had learned through experience not to trust anyone, no matter how nice they seemed, and the previous Ones they had encountered only reinforced their training. Neo's cheek twitched, but he remained otherwise perfectly still.

Orion nodded. "I figured that both of you should fight me."

Trinity faltered for a second. "Excuse me?" she asked, regaining her steely expression and tone of voice again.

"Well, I already fought you, Trinity, and I tied. And I'm positive I would tie with Neo as well, since you two are so strikingly similar. Ergo, we would just end up at a middle ground, neither of us winning losing. I couldn't let you pass, nor could I let you fail your mission. Eventually, one of us would give up and surrender. Now, I don't see how that is fair, as that's not testing you on skill. So, if I fight both of you, it will provide more of a challenge. Think of it from your point of view; it will be easier."

Neo weighed the idea over in his mind. What decided it for him was when he looked over to Trinity. She was still staring forward, although her posture had changed. Her shoulders were squared, her jaw was clenched, and she was still ramrod straight in posture. She was ready for a fight.

"We'll do it." He said.

"Oh, good!" Orion said cheerfully. He unsheathed the long sword from his side, which made the distinct metal on metal noise as it was pulled out into the open. "Choose your weapon."

Trinity, who hadn't spoken at all for a while, walked over to the opposite side of the room. Neo sensed that she was in a meditative state, gearing herself up for a fight like she normally did. The detachment from reality was what made her such a great fighter, and everyone knew not to interrupt her once she got like this. Neo turned around and went directly behind him, scanning the wall with the fire of battle already racing through him. He reached down low and pulled a broadsword out from the bottom, hearing the satisfying sound of metal being unsheathed. When he got back to the edge of the mat, he saw Trinity's choice; a small dagger. His mind instantly went back to that day back on the rooftop, where she displayed her knife throwing talents. Neo just hoped that Orion watched himself carefully

Orion looked over their choices appraisingly, nodding his head and grinning when he saw what Trinity had chosen. He flexed his fingers and cracked them, leaving Trinity and Neo to clutch their weapons tighter, Neo nearly white-knuckling the grip on his. The familiar feeling of adrenaline coursed through his veins, and was as effective as caffeine at jump starting his systems. His extremities felt as though they were being pumped with liquid fire, and he just itched for something to start.

Orion raised an eyebrow. "Three...two..."

"One." Trinity interrupted, lunging forward with her right arm outstretched, displaying to anyone within range that she had the mind to gut them like a fish. Orion had a stunned look on his face before he grinned and blocked Trinity's uppercut thrust with his sword, immediately parrying and trying to glance a blow to her shoulder. She blocked it a little late with her dagger, and had to duck out of the way so that her ear didn't get nicked off in the process. Neo sprinted forward, covering his face diagonally with his sword to block any attacks. Orion blocked another one of Trinity's blows, this time closer to his stomach, and he used her second of recoil to whip around and strike out at Neo. He was prepared for this, and slashed down with his weapon, feeling the ringing sensation of the two metal objects clashing against each other like yin and yang.

Trinity took a step back, bouncing on her heels as though she was trying to gain momentum just by standing still. Neo twirled around, sword still outstretched, ready to block anything that came his way. Trinity nodded briefly to Neo, who had turned around for the briefest second, and lunged in again. She struck near the top of Orion's sword, grating it down the edge all the way to the hilt to make a sickening metallic sound. She managed to slice the back of Orion's hand, which loosened the grip on his weapon. Momentarily stunned that she had gained an advantage over him, Orion threw his weapon far behind him, flipping backwards and picking it up as it bounced off of the ground. He panted quickly, and Neo saw the opportunity to strike. Closing his mind, he tried to visualize the code that would enable him to leap farther than it was humanly possible. Yet, his mind only pulled up a blank image.

Orion, who noticed what he was doing, cackled like a hyena about to attack its prey. "You can't change the Code in here. This is about your fighting skill, not about how well you can manipulate symbols."

And when the older man ran towards him with a feral battle cry, Neo realized just how every other pod-born must feel when faced with an opponent. Not being able to change his surroundings certainly crippled his fighting style. In his momentary stupor, he was vulnerable to any attack. Thankfully, Trinity leaped in front of him, wielding her dagger like a baseball bat and striking at the sword as if she had just hit a homerun. Neo heard a sickening pop from her shoulder that sounded as if it had been dislocated, yet Trinity continued through with the movement and leapt backwards.

"Neo," she gritted, "get your head in the game before I have to shove it there for you."

He grinned sardonically and wrapped his weapon around Orion's to tangle the blades together. Orion struggled for a moment before his popped free, using the spare moment to slash downward at Neo's leg. A gash appeared that went all the way down Neo's leg, ripping his pants. A trail of blood streamed down from the half-removed skin. With a grimace, Neo flipped backwards, using the sword as a way to gain momentum. Orion jumped in the air preparing to slice Neo once again, but Trinity darted in suddenly (using the dagger in her left hand, he noticed) and struck a blow against Orion's sword. The movement caught him off balance, and he staggered to the ground, falling on his back. Knowing that he was as prone as a turtle, Orion attempted to throw himself off of the ground. However, Trinity unearthed a mountain lion's wail and pounced on him, using her hands to pin his arms to the ground, and her weight taking care of his stomach. The man fought, but Neo walked over and placed the sword tip to his throat, pressing ever so slightly that blood began to trickle.

"Life blood." Neo said emotionlessly, staring down at his foe.

"Congratulations." Orion gasped, the pressure of the sword making it painful to speak. Neo removed the blade, and Trinity jumped off of him as though his skin was poisonous. Orion sat up straight, and one look at his legs made it obvious that he couldn't stand. Even after what they had just gone through, Neo went over to help wrap his wounds.

Orion held out a hand to stop him. "You forget; I am the One. Or, I was at one point. No matter the details, what I'm trying to say is that I'll be fine. Don't worry about me; the hardest part of your journey is ahead."

Trinity nodded sadly, and she nursed her right shoulder with her hand. Orion beckoned to her, and she warily kneeled down beside him. Orion placed his hand on her shoulder, and she winced with the pain. In a matter of moments, he let go, and she was able to rotate her shoulders in all directions possible. She stood up with a smile on her face; the most thanks she would ever give anyone.

"You've got quite a woman, there." Orion commented to Neo. He raised his eyebrows. "Reminds me a lot of my girlfriend in the Matrix. Although, I think Trinity has a better ass."

And before _his_ girlfriend could retaliate, Neo pushed her gently towards the barrier, thanking Orion as they slipped through into the beyond, as blindly as they had ever been.

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